


Monsters Are People Too

by Dreaming_Lazy



Category: Hunter X Hunter, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot, Gen, Gon makes too many friends, Killua doesn't show up for a long time, My first fic, Post-Chairman Election Arc, Post-Hideout Raid Arc, The power of friendship, killugon if you squint, spoilers probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:55:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29188167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreaming_Lazy/pseuds/Dreaming_Lazy
Summary: It's my first fic here and I wanted to do this too because I think this crossover sounds epic. (It's already been done but I still love it).Gon wakes up in a world that definitely isn't his own. Until he can find a way to get back, he's stuck training to become a hero. Although he finds out that being a hero is much, much different from being a hunter.
Relationships: Bakugou Katsuki & Gon Freecs, Gon Freecs & Killua Zoldyck, Gon Freecs & Midoriya Izuku
Comments: 34
Kudos: 109





	1. Chapter 1

Gon had only been here for a short period of time but he understood this much; hunters and heroes were two entirely different breeds of people. 

Due to some unfortunate and confusing circumstances, he was seated in a classroom full of strange teenagers being lectured by a strange man who looked very sleep deprived. Although he wasn’t able to comprehend anything that was written on the blackboard, he could at least understand what the teacher in the dark get up was saying. 

The man, Mr. Aizawa was his name, was talking about something called ‘hero training’. Steam spiraled from his ears as his brain overloaded with information. From the moment he woke up to the place he found himself now, everything had moved too fast with little time for the boy to process anything. 

Barely a few hours ago Gon had woken up in a room, which he would later find out was the nurses office. While he attempted to discern where he was, he saw a short, elderly woman talking to Aizawa. When they realized that he was awake, they spent some time afterwards asking him questions and trying to get a better understanding of his situation. They reached the conclusion that he was a confused amnesiac who would need to be watched by one of the staff members until they could figure out what to do with him.

The reason they reached this decision was because, when asked, Gon revealed that he had no clue how the hero system worked, what heroes even were, what country they were in, what culture they had, nor did he know what quirks were. Worst of all, even though he could speak and understand the words spoken to him, he could not fathom the writing system whatsoever.

At first they didn’t believe him when he tried to explain where he was from, especially when he went on to explain where Whale Island was and the map of where, apparently, his world was. The more he talked, the more the two adults couldn’t tell if he was a pathological liar, or a confused amnesiac. They went with the latter. Because Gon didn’t know what a quirk was, they weren’t entirely sure if he even had one. This meant there was a chance he could awaken his quirk on accident and potentially hurt himself and those around him if he didn’t know how to properly control it. 

So they opted to let him stay in a more isolated part of the dorms where Aizawa could keep a close eye on the boy. He had yet to speak to the principle as well, but the adults were a bit too rushed at the moment to make any final plans. As a result, Aizawa decided to let him sit in on his last class of the day before taking him to see the principal and figure out what to do with him from there.

Gon was not used to being dragged around like he currently was, and it upset him a little. Normally he’d get grumpy and get someone to explain, but this time he figured he’d just go with the flow until he could get his bearings. 

As the boy stared at the blackboard, amber eyes narrowed and glowing with resolve, he failed to notice the frequent glances being sent toward him by the curious students in the room. Some whispers would erupt from different spots in the room, causing Aizawa to glare in that direction. The group of students were very interested in the new boy who had mysteriously appeared to sit in on their class for the day. Especially because Aizawa hadn’t said much except that he would be spending the class period with them, not even bothering to introduce him.

Eventually the teacher finished his long lecture and dismissed the class for the day. He planned on calling out to Gon as soon as the class was over, but was cut off as the boy was instantly surrounded by the students. He smiled nervously and sweat dropped, both of his hands held up in awkward defense and the teenagers crowded around him like moths drawn to a burning flame. Their chatter blurred and overlapped as they all spoke at the same time. Gon, who was unable to keep up with what was being said to him, just sat there.

“Oh my gosh, you’re adorable!”

“How old are you? You look so young!”

“What’s your quirk?”

“Dude how do you get your hair like that? Do you gel it like I do?”

“Everyone please stop crowding around the boy!” A boy with dark blue hair and glasses called out over the chaos, his arm making a rapid slicing motion in the air as he spoke.

“Right, Iida, this kid and I have an appointment with the principal. Save your questions for later.” Aizawa’s gruff voice spoke up from behind the teenager, now identified as Iida, startling the students and causing them to disperse. Some let out soft groans and grumbles as they walked away from the young boy’s desk. He gave a singular jerk of his head to single for Gon to follow him out of the classroom.

Gon expressed his gratitude with a relieved expression and soft smile, gladly following behind the teacher. On their way to the principals office, the boy took the opportunity to ask some of his own questions while he had the time. He glanced up the teacher, the man had rough stubble on his chin and tired eyes, the sharp edge in their gloomy depths reminded him of Kite.

“Mr. Aizawa, I was wondering… what exactly is this place?” Gon asked. The man felt somewhat uncomfortable with the pair of glowing, eager eyes on him. Like he had all the answers. Which, to Gon, he kind of did.

The man recognized at this point that the boy was an amnesiac at a certain level, and decided to explain the best that he could. Although he still found it strange that in this day and age, there was a kid who didn’t know of the famous UA High School. “This is a school for heroes. Young kids with potential train to get licensed as professional heroes and help the people of the country. That’s the basic gist of it.”

“School, huh? That sounds pretty cool! I’ve never been to school before but I heard it’s pretty fun.” Gon replied cheerfully. He considered something for a moment before adding, “Also that training to be a hero kinda sounds like what people go through to become a hunter!” Aizawa ignored the last statement regarding hunters, and focused on the part about school. The fact that this kid admitted to being thirteen years old and he has never gone to school, bothered him just a bit.

“You’ve never been to school? Where did you get your education then?” He asked, brows slightly furrowed despite the indifference in his voice.

“Oh, I’m home schooled by my Aunt Mito. Although I haven’t had the opportunity to continue it after leaving to get my hunter’s license.” Gon responded casually, a smile still ever present on his boyish face. 

“This Aunt Mito person you keep mentioning… she treats you well, yes?” He asked, even though he felt he shouldn’t care about it as much as he did. Gon nodded with a fond look.

“Nn! She’s like my mom. I never met my real mom, but Aunt Mito was always there for me so…” He paused, seeming to remember something, “I’m glad that she was the one who raised me.”

“I see… that’s good then.” Aizawa replied blankly. Inside, however, he was unsure of how he should respond to such a strange kid. With each little piece of background he gave him, the more he found himself wondering, maybe even worrying a little bit. Although he thought this, he stopped asking anymore questions. 

Gon had repeatedly talked about the concept of hunters from where he come from, and a woman called Aunt Mito who was apparently his mother figure. His information never deviated or changed when he talked about it which made it clear he wasn’t lying. But it was hard to tell considering he literally came out of nowhere. As a matter of fact, another teacher had found him lying passed out in the courtyard and brought him to the nurses office out of concern for his health. 

Some of the other things the boy said didn’t make much sense to him, but it still managed to irk him in some way. Especially the way that he held himself. He walked with a purpose and an air of authority surrounded him wherever he went, despite how old he was. It was a type of calm heaviness that was only seen around heroes that have seen the worst things. Aizawa wondered just where exactly this boy came from, and how much he’s actually been through. It was only when he went quiet or became focused that the gap between his appearance and knowledge was clear.

While the man drifted in thought, the two of them finally arrived at the door to the principals office. He gave the door a sturdy knock and entered upon hearing a voice beckoning them from the inside, the shorter boy following behind him without a second thought. 

Gon’s eyes widened at the sight of the mixed animal creature sitting at a large desk. He observed it, the words ‘chimera ant’ on the tip of his tongue. Although he had the strong desire to ask, he decided against it, realizing that whatever country or place he was in, they probably didn’t know what a chimera ant was. Even though he thought this, he kept staring at it with great interest. The creature shifted under the boy’s gaze but kept a face that completely hid his true emotions. 

“Ah, Mr. Aizawa, welcome! This must be the boy you mentioned earlier.” He turned his dark beady eyes to look at the boy. Gon blinked, breaking him out of his trance and making his cheeks tinge pink due to embarrassment from staring.

“Hi, I’m Gon Freecs!” He greeted so brightly that the tired teacher standing beside him almost squinted. Nezu took in his cheery nature and wasn’t able to sense any sort of hostility coming from him.

“Nice to meet you Mr. Freecs. I’m Nezu, I could be a dog or a mouse or a bear, but more importantly... I'm the principal!” He greeted enthusiastically. The boy’s eyes glittered in wonder as he let out a soft ‘whoa.’ The principal absorbed the boy’s reaction, not quite expecting it to be taken in so positively. Most people would normally react a little differently. This kid was interesting.

“Mr. Aizawa explained the basics of what’s going on. In short, you don’t know anything about this country nor how you got here, is this correct?” He asked, analyzing every bit of the boy’s expression in hopes of catching a flinch or a flash of something that would expose whatever he could be trying to hide. Gon only nodded earnestly.

“That’s right. And I don’t know how to get back either.” The kid added. Nezu nodded, mulling it over in his head for a moment. The second he stepped into the room, Nezu could see something was off about him. He could feel the chills straight down to his bones when the boy’s golden eyes stared at him. What this meant, he did not know. But he wanted to know.

“I told you over the phone what we were thinking of doing for him in the meantime. If you have any better ideas, I’m open to suggestions.” Aizawa said. He, did in fact, have one. A decent sounding idea that would play into his best interests perfectly. The thought of a new challenge that seemed like it could be difficult fed his desire to discover things due to his intelligence quirk. 

“Why not have him enroll as a student! It would be quite the interesting spectacle.” Nezu suggested, a cheery tone in his voice. After observing the boys behavior, he deduced that there was much more to him than meets the eye. He was curious. He wanted to know what type of dark secrets lurked withing the depths of the boy’s past and potential future, and the best way to find out was by watching him closely. The grumbling, gloomy teacher, however, found that idea to be ridiculous. 

“With all due respect sir, he’s not old enough. Besides, he doesn’t even know the basic knowledge of our society for him to get anything out of the classes.” 

Nezu took a moment to consider this, staring hard at his desk with his unwavering expression. Then his head flicked up and he snapped his paw… fingers… looking now at Aizawa who felt the steady rise of uneasiness in his stomach. Whenever he had such an unsettling glint in his eyes and so much sudden enthusiasm, it meant more stress and paperwork. 

“Then a trial period!” He concluded.

Aizawa looked at the Nezu with a face that seemed to grow more tired by the second. “What?”

“Gon can join class and participate as a regular student for a month. If he can’t keep up then we find somewhere else for him to go, but if he proves himself within that time he can stay. How does that sound young man?” Nezu spoke, now addressing the boy directly.

Gon bounced on the balls of his feet, gaze focused on the principal with a blinding grin on his face. His expression was a cross between excitement and determination while his eyes held a steely resolve. “Sure, that sounds like fun!”

The quick solution, if it could even be considered that, made by a chaotic principal and a thirteen year old boy was about to give Aizawa heartburn. It was clear that the creature had clearly taken a liking to the kid. However, at this point the man was tuned out of the conversation, not knowing quite how he was supposed to be handling this. 

Nezu proceeded to explain how they would provide Gon with the materials to learn about the history and culture of their country while he attended regular classes. He also mentioned how Aizawa would be mostly responsible for him as they still weren’t sure if he had a quirk and if it was dangerous. Later in the week they would schedule an x-ray to confirm, but for now the boy would be have to stick close to the tired man and avoid any trouble. 

Gon readily agreed, turning to look at Aizawa with his smiling face. The man released a sigh and momentarily shut his eyes to prolong the inevitable ache of pain growing in the space at the front of his head. 

“Yeah, fine, whatever. Just don’t cause me anymore headaches, got that?” He said dismissively. The boy nodded eagerly and spoke with a bright, young voice that actually matched his age.

“Mhm! I promise to do my best!” 

‘I don’t like how that’s not exactly a promise to not cause trouble.’ He thought, dark eyes squinting at the boy with a look of doubt and judgment.

“Mr. Freecs, I will be calling you for more appointments so I can get the chance to learn more about you and see how we can get you home.” Nezu spoke, catching their attention.

“sure, no problem!” Gon happily replied.

Now that everything was settled, Aizawa decided it was about time to head back.

“Alright, follow me to the dorms. Don’t run ahead.” Aizawa told the boy. He turned and made his way to the door, one foot crossing over the threshold and into the hallway with the kid only a few paces behind him. But before they could leave, Gon paused and shifted his head to look at Nezu once more.

“Oh, Principle Nezu, you can just call me Gon.” 

Nezu blinked. His ever present smile eased to show a hint of amusement. “Okay, young Gon.”

Gon grinned widely and followed Aizawa out of the room. The cheap plastic of his shoes crunched as he stepped out, almost matching the pitch of the door’s hinges as it closed behind him. Nezu watched after the two left, staring for a while at the empty space they had just occupied. Then he chuckled quietly to himself.

It looked like things were going to get more interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gon starts making friends.

Gon was seated on one of the chairs pulled up to a kitchen table, his legs dangling off the side and not quite touching the ground. He was in, what he was told, the UA dorm building where the students stay. Aizawa had him sit on the chair and told him not to move while he left to quickly go do something. 

The general area was empty and it was only Gon in the silent space. His head swiveled around, eyes surveying his surroundings. It was a neat and open place where he could see into the lounge, and he debated over whether or not he should migrate over to the couch. He probably wouldn't get in trouble for only moving a little bit right? Not that he was complaining of course, but the couch looked more comfortable than the hard kitchen chair. 

Seeing as there was no harm in changing seats he hopped off the chair, bounced over to the couch, and sunk into the soft cushions, releasing a big sigh as he did so. He'd been tugged this way and that all day and although half of him had boundless energy, the other half was overdue for a break.

Just as he settled into place, he heard the click of a door and his head whipped around to find the source. His warm, honey brown eyes and spiky green hair peeked over the back of the couch, staring intently at the front door as someone walked in. A girl completely colored in pink entered the room. Her hair was fluffy, like a friend of his, and there were horns protruding from the tufts of pink. He gazed at the horns and the strange discoloration of her eyes with great interest. 

She turned her head and noticed the green, gravity defying hair sticking up from behind the couch and made eye contact with the boy. Within a second, her excitement burst to the surface and she rushed over to him, leaning over the couch to get a good look at the new kid. 

"Hey! You're the kid from this morning, right? I'm Mina Ashido, it's nice to meet you!" She said in a cheery voice. Her sudden enthusiasm and closeness startled him and he unconsciously leaned back a bit.

"I'm Gon. You're one of the kids from the 1A class right?" He asked, quickly adapting to her bubbly personality. 

"Yup! I wanted to talk to you earlier but you already left with Aizawa." She rambled on, observing the boyish features on his face. She wanted to know about his age but didn't want to ask in case she accidentally offended him. "So what brings you to UA?" 

"Ah, about that… I don't really know... " He started. Mina raised a brow in confusion after hearing that. 

Before he could continue to finish what he was saying, more people flooded into the room and pulled their attention away from the conversation. The entire area was full of bustling chatter as students entered and walked about. A blonde boy with a black streak of what was shaped like a lightning bolt in his hair, turned to see the two over by the couch and lit up with surprise.

"Hey! It's the little guy from earlier!" He spoke, catching everyone's attention. Gon suddenly found a multitude of eyes on him and gulped, beginning to feel fairly nervous. 

In the blink of an eye he was once again overwhelmed by voices and people. Unsure about what was so exciting about his arrival, he only looked at the plethora of smiling faces and curious gazes. His head felt like it was spinning and his ears tuned out the noise as he tried to process what was going on around him. Soon after he started getting bombarded with questions and a familiar voice spoke up over the noise.

“Again, please do not surround the boy! It’s rude and disrespectful!” The one from before, Ida, lectured the group just like he had in the classroom. The students realized they must be making the boy uncomfortable so they backed down, but still stood around him, interested in meeting this strange new kid. Gon was quietly grateful for the intervention. He wasn’t the best at handling large crowds. 

“Sorry if we spooked you there man! It’s just surprising to see someone like Aizawa bringing in random people.” A boy with spiked red hair and somewhat pointy teeth said. He held himself with an air of strength and confidence, but his crimson eyes were gentle. “Ah, not that you’re a random person… that-”

“Why are you idiots fawning over him like he’s some sort of celebrity. He’s just a damn extra, probably an errand boy or something.” A different voice grumbled from somewhere among the teenagers, cutting of the red haired boy mid sentence.

“Aw c’mon Bakugo, don’t be like that.” He replied, not seeming to be phased by the prickly attitude.

“Yeah, and don’t act like you don’t want to know who he is too. For Aizawa to be the one to bring him in, he’s probably got some cool skills or something.” Another boy added. What made him distinguishable from the rest was the odd shape of his elbows, like there was a cylindrical container where his elbow bone should be. 

“Speaking of which, what’s your name little dude?” The lightening bolt blonde from before asked, directly addressing the boy. Gon blinked and it took a second before he realized that he was talking to him. He was so caught up in their odd interaction that he almost missed what he had said. 

“Oh, my name is Gon.” He answered, still unsure why his presence was such a big deal to these teenagers who have never met him before. 

“Gon? Huh, that’s a funny name.” The blonde replied without thinking. “But it’s nice to meet you, I’m Denki Kaminari!” 

Someone would have reprimanded Denki for judging the boy’s name if it wasn’t for the fact that they all thought the same thing. Gon wasn’t a common name, it sounded too foreign. That at least left most of them with the assumption that the boy probably wasn’t from Japan. It was possible that he might be an exchange student. That could be the case, but if he was than his ability to speak Japanese so fluently was impressive. 

“It’s nice to meet you too Denki, oh and everyone else!” Gon said, standing and giving a friendly nod as his eyes swept over the group of students. They had more energy than he was prepared for but they seemed really nice and welcoming, which Gon really appreciated considering the circumstances. 

He absorbed the groups dynamic and a bright, shimmering smile found it’s way onto his face. At his pure greeting and reactions some of the girls let out soft ‘awwws’, and the boys found his smile to be contagious as they all started smiling as well. The atmosphere in the room was one of warmth and friendliness, with Gon at the center of it all. He felt pretty comfortable even in such a new and strange environment. As they chatted, most of the students took the opportunity to introduce themselves to get on good terms with the strange new kid. 

“Hey, uh, Gon?” One of the teenagers said, catching the boy’s attention instantly. He turned and looked in the direction of another boy who had dark green hair and freckles. His expression was a mix between anxiousness and curiosity.

“Yeah?”

“If you wouldn’t mind… that is… I was wondering what your quirk was.”

Gon stared at him. The boy’s intense gaze caused a sweat to break out on the teen’s forehead and he fidgeted where he stood. Did his sudden question accidentally offend the boy? He hoped not, it wasn’t his intention. The boy only continued to stare, contemplating something quietly in his head.

“Who are you?” He asked. Although his word’s were blunt and a little harsh, his tone was innocent. He just wanted to put faces to names since, although he learned most of their names, not all of the students had introduced themselves yet.

“Oh, Sorry about that… I’m Izuku Midoryia!” The teen, Izuku, responded.

Gon’s brows furrowed as the name rolled around in his brain, trying to determine where he’d heard it before. Suddenly he remembered. His mouth popped open and eyes widened a bit when he came to the realization.

“Ah! I’ve heard about you!” He said, startling him.

“Uh…huh? You have?” Izuku suddenly felt worried.

“Mhm! Recovery girl talked about you a lot!” He continued, his face glowing. “She said you get hurt often so she sees you the most.” He recalled the moment a little while after he woke up, he’d overheard the small old woman talking to Aizawa. She had said how when she heard that a kid was brought to the nurses office, she was expecting to find Midoriya there with perhaps another broken bone for her to fix.

“S-she did? Well I guess she’s not wrong… I’m sure I’m not that bad though.” He mumbled, his face flushed in embarrassment as his hand reached behind to sheepishly rub the back of his neck. The other students around him laughed knowingly, some of them teased him for his reputation. 

“It’s okay, I get hurt all the time so it’s not like it’s such a weird thing to happen.” Gon spoke reassuringly. Well as reassuring as he could. A few teens caught on to the part where he easily mentioned how he got hurt often and were slightly concerned about what that implied. “Oh, you asked about my quirk, right? Um… to tell you the truth, I don’t actually know yet.”

To that, the group of teenagers went silent. Gon looked around, confused as to why everyone had suddenly stopped talking. Did he say something weird? 

No one seemed to know quite how to respond to the two questionable things that slipped from his mouth so casually. 

“What do you mean? Don’t you know what your quirk is?” A girl, Momo was her name, asked cautiously. He was about answer when a loud booming voice cut him off before he had the chance to even open his mouth.

“Hah?! How did someone even more stupid and clueless than Deku manage to get in here!?!” The angry shouting came from the explosive blonde boy from earlier who called him an extra. Gon could tell the teen didn’t like him but he didn’t know why, they’ve never met before. At least he didn’t remember meeting someone like him before. Also, who was Deku?

“Chill man, it’s not cool to insult him like that.” The spiky red haired boy, Kirishima, turned and said to the blonde.

“Yeah Bakugo, he literally just got here! Don’t blow up on him just cause he’s hogging your spotlight.” Denki added, wagging a finger in the other boys face like he was lecturing a child. A tick mark appeared on the other party’s forehead, and the sweet smell of burnt caramel tinged the air as a series of popping noises came from his hands.

“DON’T FUCKING TELL ME WHAT TO DO DUNCE FACE!” He roared, perched like he was going to pounce and attack him. 

Gon watched this entire scene, completely unaffected by his attitude but just vaguely bewildered. His brain processed some new information that had his mind reeling. Upon smelling the strange sent and witnessing the sparks bouncing off the angry teen’s finger tips, Gon was in awe. It seemed like what one would expect from a Nen ability, but knowing they didn’t use Nen here, he realized this was one of the quirk things everyone kept telling him about. 

As a matter of fact, this particular ability reminded him specifically of his encounter with the bomber on Greed Island. This brought a wave of excitement so strong it made every last one of his nerves tingle. 

“That’s so cool!” He shouted, rushing up to stand beside Bakugo. His sharp, fiery gaze snapped to glare at the boy.

“Hey-!”

“Are those sparks coming out of your hands? Why does it smell like caramel? How strong is it? Can you put bombs on people too or just the sparks?” The sudden bombardment of questions startled the teen, temporarily catching him off guard and making him forget his reason for being upset. The intense interrogation of his quirk reminded him of Deku and rage quickly rekindled within him.

“What the- Shut the fuck up you-”

“What’s going on in here.” A familiar, gruff voice interrupted, what could have potentially been a series of insults from the teen, and brought the energy in the room back down to a simmer.

“Mr. Aizawa, you’re back!” Gon stated the obvious, cheerily turning to face him and forgetting about Bakugo who was left seething behind him. Aizawa looked between the two and then up at the rest of the class.

He let out a heavy sigh. There was so much that had happened in one day and there was still more to do before the day was over. The group of teens looked at him anxiously while Bakugo stood only a few feet away from the young boy, teeth bared and hands balled into fists. Without anyone needing to say anything, he figured out what had likely just gone down.

“I was away for a few minutes and you’re already causing trouble.” Aizawa spoke to Gon. The boy gave a nervous, lopsided smile in return. He frowned, bothered by how the simple but honest expression made him reconsider lecturing the boy.

“Right, well I suppose I have to explain this eventually.” Aizawa began, dark, tired eyes scanned over the students to gauge their reactions as he spoke. “I’ll assume that you’ve all introduced yourselves by now. Starting tomorrow he will be officially joining our class as a student.” 

The room erupted in chatter after hearing him say that. Some students talked among themselves while others surrounded Gon once again. The low noise left a buzzing sensation in the man’s ears, causing his brow to twitch.

“Alright, enough!” He demanded, silencing the students once more. His hair levitated off his shoulders and eyes glinted with a flash of red when he spoke. Gon noticed this and was intrigued. There was still a lot he didn’t know. “Like I was saying, he’s going to be officially enrolled as a student so behave yourselves. He’s partaking in a trial run, courtesy of principal Nezu, meaning he may or may not still be here after about a month.”

Mina raised her hand but spoke without waiting to be called on. “With all due respect sir, what do you mean by trial run?” 

“What I mean by that is, he-” He nodded his head in Gon’s direction “-will be participating as an exchange student. If he can’t keep up with what we teach here then he’ll be expelled.”

Upon hearing that, soft murmuring erupted from the group and many turned to spare a glance at the boy who stood in the center of the chaos, seemingly unbothered. As some of the students revved up to ask more questions, Aizawa halted any advance by lifting up his hand and giving them all a hard look. 

“That’ll be all for now. It’s getting late, you all should start heading back to your rooms.” He concluded in a tone that left no room for discussion. 

They groaned and grumbled as they pulled themselves away from the boy, some giving him a thumbs up or a smile while they passed him. Save for Bakugo who stalked out with a grimace, significantly more upset then he’d been when he first entered the room. One by one they shuffled out until the only two left behind were Aizawa and Gon. The teacher looked at him with indifference but his eyes held a subtle softness that one could easily miss. 

“They seem really nice.” Gon said with an easygoing smile. The man observed the boy’s face, analyzing his expression for any sign of discomfort or exhaustion. He was aware just how tiring his class could be. And knowing this boy had probably been through enough already, he didn’t want him getting even more worked up because his students were a little careless. 

However, his smile was genuine. There was a level of acceptance and warmth in the boy that made those around him unconsciously want to get closer to him. He had a light in his eyes that could really make a person wonder. Aizawa did wonder.

He wondered where the boy came from, what he went through. Why he accepted everything so easily, and so willingly got along with others. He wondered what it was that lay in the deep shadows of the boys expression when he went silent, lost in thought. For a child with, what could only be assumed to be a child’s knowledge, where did he get his confidence? His mental fortitude? Aizawa wondered, but he wasn’t sure how much he wanted to discover.

“They’re a pain when they want to be.” Aizawa started, his gaze leaving the boy in front of him and drifting over to the direction where the students had left. “But they’re good kids. You won’t have a hard time fitting in.”

God nodded in agreement. He wasn’t very worried about making friends and fitting in, everyone he met so far seemed really cool and kind. If anything, he was excited to spend some more time learning about the people he would be surrounded by for the next month.

“I’m really looking forward to it.” Gon’s eyes slid down to stare at his shoes, the sharp green contrasted greatly against the carpet. After a moment of quiet consideration, he brought his gaze back up to the man. “Hey Mr. Aizawa?” The tired man turned back to face him.

“Hm?”

“Thank you.” 

Aizawa looked at him, features steadily maintaining a blank face, but his eyes were unblinking.

“There’s nothing to thank me for. It’s the job of a hero to help others.” He stated plainly. Gon shook his head, taking a step closer to where the man stood. 

“Earlier, you tried to reassure me, right? And just now…” He said, voice heavy with the weight of gratitude and respect. “Thanks a lot.”

Strange. This boy was truly something else. The two of them stayed in a comfortable silence, one trying to express his appreciation while the other attempted to analyze the anomaly standing in front of him. Aizawa took a second to drink in the words Gon had said, then shifted his body around and began to walk away.

“You should go to bed soon too, Gon. Class starts early in the morning and it’ll be troublesome if you fall asleep on your first day. Follow me, I’ll show you where your room is.” Aizawa didn’t say anything else after that. He didn’t need to.

Gon followed after him like he did that morning, except his face shined just a bit brighter than it did the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To my readers- you guys are absolutely wonderful. Thank you all so much for all your support, it really means the world to me! I promise to do my best and make this an enjoyable fanfic!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day of school and some fun training exercises.

It was early the next morning, the students poured into the classroom with some heading straight to their seats while others stood around and talked until the bell. Gon was one of the former students and went to his desk immediately after walking in. 

Upon arriving in his temporary dorm room the day before, he had discovered a pile of basic language and history textbooks, as well as a spare uniform. He wore it to class but the fit wasn’t quite right. The shirt and jacket sagged around the shoulders and he had a hard time keeping the pants from slipping too low on his waist. The lower half of his pant legs puffed out a bit because they were layered over the gaudy, green boots he wore. 

Aizawa had mentioned that they would get him fitted for a proper uniform and some new shoes, however, for the meantime he would have to make do with what he had been given. When Gon first slipped them on to test how well they fit, he was worried that they would slip off right away. It was almost like he was a hermit crab that found a shell too big for its body. Although he wouldn’t complain about it out loud. He’d experienced things that were much more uncomfortable than loose clothes, and he was grateful enough that they gave him a uniform at all.

Once he sat down, a few students instantly surrounded his desk. Gon could put a name to most of the faces by now and noted that the teens who came to greet him were; Mina, Tsuyu, Kirishima, and Denki. He beamed at the newcomers, glad to have people to talk to on his first day of school. 

“Hey Gon! How was your first night in the Dorms? It wasn’t too bad was it?” Kirishima spoke first.

“Kirishima!” He replied brightly then slightly shook his head “It wasn’t bad at all! The blankets they gave me were super comfy.”

“That’s good to hear, ribbit.” Tsuyu chimed in. Gon tilted his head when he heard the girl say ‘ribbit’. 

Now that he thought about it, when the students overwhelmed him yesterday he believed he heard her say something at some point. He was pretty sure he heard her go ‘ribbit’ then too. The more he thought about it, the more he realized just how much her mannerisms and appearance somewhat reminded him of a frog.

“Hey Tsuyu, why do you say ribbit?” Gon asked bluntly, amber eyes alight with pure curiosity. Tsuyu was a bit taken aback from the question that was so out of blue.

“It’s because of my quirk.” She responded. “Oh, and you can call me Tsu.”

“Tsu?..I like that, it sounds nice!” He paused for a second, processing the first part of what she said. “What do you mean it’s because of your quirk?”

Tsuyu had a faint blush on her cheeks from the unexpected compliment. “My quirk is called frog. It means I can do most things a frog can do.” She answered. Gon’s entire face lit up at the information he just received.

“Whoa, that’s so cool! Having a quirk sounds awesome!” He said, eyes glittering and voice full of awe. So far quirks sounded very similar to Nen abilities, but there were a few small things that made them different. From what he understood, quirks were genetic and almost everyone had them. Quirks also were a part of the person rather than feeding off of a person’s aura and they weren’t chosen like Nen abilities were. 

“That’s right! Hey little dude, didn’t you say something yesterday about not knowing what your quirk is?” Denki spoke up, leaning on the desk with a look of interest. Gon nodded and was about to reply when he was quickly cut off. 

“Oh yeah, we were talking before you guys came in.” Mina added, “You also said you didn’t really know what brought you to UA.”

The group of four stared at him with wide curious eyes. Gon looked between them, a little lost, trying to figure out what to say. The concept of quirks was still more of a mystery to him and he didn’t know how to explain that he woke up not knowing where he was or how he got here. The longer it continued to dwell in his mind, the more he considered he might as well be in a completely different world than where he was from. Granted, no one would believe that considering the teachers already thought he had amnesia. 

“Yeah, I don’t know much… sorry.” He smiled nervously and let his shoulders slump forward a bit as he talked. “Everything is different here than where I’m from.”

Mina thought about this. “Where are you from, Gon?” His attitude changed entirely at the thought of Whale Island, his family, and his friends. Just as he was about to spew everything about his home and adventures, their teacher slunk in with a half dead expression on his face. Gon’s eyebrows raised at the exhausted state of the man. 

Noticing the boy’s attention drifting away, the four students turned to see Aizawa giving them a warning look. They shuddered and said goodbye to Gon, promising to catch up later, then headed back to their own desks. Once everyone was seated and quiet, he began to speak to the class. 

“Good morning. Today we’re going to start your training for the upcoming hero license exam.” He spoke monotonously. 

Hero license? The boy’s brows scrunched in thought. Was a hero license anything like a hunter’s license? Would the exam to get it be more, less, or equally difficult to the one he took to get his own license? His head spun with question’s and his interest was peaked. As a matter of fact, when he woke up in this strange new place he found that he still had his hunter’s license on him. Although, based on everything he’d learned so far, he guessed he probably wouldn’t be able to use it here. 

Brushing off the matter of his hunter’s license, Gon listened eagerly to Aizawa as he spoke. He’d shifted from talking about the exam to explaining the training assignment they would be doing. It was similar to the training the students had done once before when they split into teams of heroes and villains, except this time there was no bomb or hostage. 

This assignment would be a pseudo reconnaissance mission. The students would be split into five groups of four where two of them would be villains and the other two would be heroes. The roles would be decided at random. The goal was to sneak into the ‘villain hideout’ and collect the fake information that would be hidden somewhere in the building, and get out without being caught by the villains. The villains won if they managed to incapacitate the two heroes. 

He expressed the importance of how hero missions were not just limited to rescues and head on battles. Some would require a level of stealth and intelligence which were equally important. If the ‘heroes’ could manage to get it in, find and retrieve the information, and get out without being caught then they won. 

“That being said,” Aizawa looked up from the instructions in his hand to make direct eye contact with Gon, “As Freecss is a special case, he will get a handy cap. When groups are decided one of the hero groups will have three students in total, including him.”

Gon nodded with conviction. After hearing the man brief them on what they would be doing in class for the day, the boy couldn’t help but grow excited. He had been stuck on Whale Island with weakened, suppressed Nen and minimal chances to go on adventures so he desperately craved some action. 

From somewhere in the classroom, he heard a voice grumble “weak.” Before he could look for the source, Aizawa, saying what he needed to say, moved from behind his space at the front and toward the door. 

“Now go suit up and we’ll go to the training area.” He finished, leaving the room without sparing any last glances to the class. The students got up and began to leave the room as well, talking among themselves about their eagerness for the exercise. Gon stood up with his classmates and followed along without knowing exactly where he was going. He’d only been in the school for barely a day and a half so he didn’t know where anything was.

Another thing Aizawa had talked to him about was that since he didn’t have a hero costume as of yet, he could choose to wear a spare gym uniform or what he was wearing when he first arrived. Gon told the man then that he would stick with his regular clothes. He figured he’d use them because he was more used to them and found them more comfortable anyway. Although he thought about this as he walked behind the large group of bustling students. If the school uniform alone didn’t fit well, the gym clothes probably wouldn’t have either. 

After some time, all the students were suited up and met together in a room where the groups would be decided. The first group that was picked included Gon, and they went to the location right away. The two chosen to play the role of ‘villains’ were Izuku and Momo, and they left before the ‘hero’ group in order to set up and prepare. The hero group consisted of Gon, Hagakure, and Sato. During his first meeting with Hagakure, the boy almost lost his mind upon discovering there was a classmate who was invisible. The people here were truly something else.

When it was time to begin, the small group stood in front of the tall building that would be the villain hideout for the exercise and discussed a game plan to sneak in. Sato suggested slipping in through one of the windows on the lower floors and going from there. They agreed unanimously started moving. Once they were inside they were met with two possible paths leading down darkened corridors and they took a moment to think about which direction to take.

“Maybe we should split up.” Sato said, looking at his two teammates. Gon nodded and assumed Hagakure did too since he heard a female voice hum in agreement. 

“You can go that way and Gon and I can take the other hallway.” Hagakure added, pointing in the direction she was talking about.

“Yeah, that should be fine. Your quirk isn’t suited for offense so it’d be a good idea for you two to go together in case you get caught. Although we still don’t know what Gon’s quirk is…” Sato trailed off, looking at the boy in question. 

Gon held is thumb up in an attempt to reassure the two of them. “Don’t worry, I’ve done stealth missions before and I should be strong enough to escape if we need to.” He said confidently. The two just looked at him and chose to not question the worrisome things he tended to say. 

With that decision in mind, the group of three split up and went down the different hallways. Hagakure and Gon walked around for a bit without bumping into anyone but also not getting any clues as to where the important information could be hidden. After a short while, Gon wanted to share something that had been weighing on his mind for a while since he met the girl. 

“So are you invisible all the time?” He asked.

“Yeah, um… my quirk is invisibility so I’ve always been invisible. Weird huh?” She said, somewhat unsure of how to talk to the strange boy.

Gon shook his head. “I don’t think it’s weird. I have a friend back home who can turn invisible.” 

“Really?” She was skeptical but astonished. Invisibility was not as common as most other quirks.

“Mhm! Although he has to hold his breath to do it. But it’s super cool! I’m not really supposed to talk about it, but he can turn other people invisible too… he saved us once thanks to that.” He said with a distant look in his eyes. His expression was one of fond remembrance, but there was a hardness to it that clashed with his youthful appearance. 

“What-”

Just as Hagakure was about to ask him a question of her own, the boy held a hand up to her face which surprised her and cut her off before she could say anything else. Gon raised his fingers to his nose and did something, pinched it maybe? Then he lifted his nose to the air and sniffed a few times before bringing his head down with an alarming alertness.

The boy grabbed her gloved hand and pulled her into a nearby room that was completely shrouded in darkness. She held her breath when the sound of footsteps suddenly appeared and echoed down the hall. The two held very still while the person continued to pass the place where they were hiding. They paused every few seconds, as if listening for something, before continuing on down the hall. The pair waited a few more minutes until they couldn’t hear anything anymore, but even then Hagakure didn’t get up until Gon did. 

She had no idea how he was able to tell someone was coming and so quickly, but she trusted his judgment. She appreciated his ability to take cover as quickly as he did, yet there was something about him that she found frightening. While they were crouched on the ground waiting for the footsteps to go away, for a moment she thought the boy had disappeared. It was dark but the faint light in the hallway still illuminated the vaguest outlines of his form, and even then it felt like she was looking at a mere illusion. The boy had been right next to her the whole time yet he had absolutely no presence. It felt like he literally wasn’t there. She almost called out his name at one point, however once the person had left she felt a gentle squeeze on her wrist and she saw Gon there like he had never moved. And he hadn’t moved. 

“We should look around here and see what we can find before going any further.” Gon spoke softly in the dim shadows of the room. Hagakure whispered a quiet “okay” and they stood up together. 

It was hard to see anything in the room, but that didn’t stop Gon from rummaging around blindly. He grabbed what felt like a bunch of papers and a USB from a table somewhere and turned around to head to the doorway, where the light just barely entered into the room. As he stepped forward he rammed his foot against something and fell over, hitting the ground with a thud. A loud bang followed from something else falling over. 

“Ah. Oops… You don’t think anyone heard that did you?” He asked anxiously and rose from his spot on the ground, the materials he gathered still held tight in his arms.

Hagakure had no need to answer. Almost in response to his question, they were met with the sound of someone running toward their spot. Gon swiftly rushed out of the room, handing the things in his arms to the girl. He took her free arm and bolted down the hallway, tugging the girl along behind him. Normally he’d be able to get out faster on his own, but he needed to protect her so he did the best he could given the circumstances.

They turned a corner and made it halfway down one of the many corridors when they suddenly heard a shout from behind them. Gon chanced a glance and saw the green haired boy chasing after them and gaining fairly quickly. They almost reached a door that they’d come through previously- they’d be able to lock it and continue to run away- when the building began to tremble. The two stopped running and turned to see Deku tearing a chunk of stone from the wall. He threw it over their heads and at the ceiling just above the door. 

Stone and drywall cracked and tumbled down forming a hole in the ceiling and creating a pile in front of the door, blocking it completely. Realizing their only other option was to get by Deku, the two stood facing him in a standoff. 

“You’re trapped now.” He said, getting into a stance that looked like he was preparing to lunge at them. Gon stood in front of Hagakure protectively and got into his own fighting stance. Although his Nen was all but depleted, he could still try to use it to escape if he was careful about it. 

“Maybe, but we can still get past you.” Gon replied, determination burning within his amber eyes. 

“You can try.” Deku said.

Before anyone could move, however, they were all startled by an earsplitting crack from above. Their heads snapped over to look at the place where the ceiling caved in. From the hole, cracks spider webbed outwards and spread out. One particularly large crack crawled its way toward them overhead at an alarming speed. They watched it for a second as it eventually stopped and everything went quiet. 

Gon’s instincts were on high alert and his eyes were trained to the grains of dust that slipped from the crack and floated down. No one moved until about a minute passed and Deku took a hesitant step forward. The moment he moved, believing that the surroundings were stable enough, was when everything took a dangerous turn. The ceiling split open and large pieces of debris came tumbling down directly above Hagakure. 

It was as if everything happened in slow motion. Deku started up his quirk, energy shooting through his legs like an electric current, and was prepared to launch himself at the two. However, before he could even raise his leg, Gon was in the air and his foot collided with the falling pieces of the ceiling. The power of his single kick sent it whizzing by the girl’s head and through the wall at the end of the hall, creating a large gap.

He landed gracefully on the ground beside her and observed the space above them for anymore activity. Deku stood there, bewildered. The energy in his legs slowly fizzled out as he was too distracted to focus on keeping it activated. Once Gon was sure there would be no more falling pieces, at least not immediately, he brought his gaze back down to the boy across from him.

“Hey, Izuku?” He called out. Deku blinked, startled at hearing his first name being called by the boy who kicked away falling debris as easily as if it were a soccer ball. 

“Uh… Wha-… What?” He drawled, still not quite caught up with everything that just happened.

“Does that mean it’s okay to damage the building to escape?” The boy asked. Deku didn’t know how to respond to that, he could only stare dumbfounded at him. 

Seeing how he wasn’t getting a response he looked up at Hagakure, or at least where he thought Hagakure’s head should be. She was also still processing the fact that she was almost crushed under a pile of rocks like the doorway earlier. Noticing that neither of them were responding, he decided to assume the answer was yes and acted promptly. 

“Excuse me, Hagakure!” He said, picking up the girl as best as he could and turning to the window closest to him in the hallway. 

Upon watching his movements, Deku returned to his senses and rushed to capture them. His fingers got within an inch of grazing the boy’s hair when he shattered the window and jumped out, carrying the invisible girl in his arms. She shrieked as they fell past a few floors and held on tightly. Gon could feel her arm pressed against his face causing his eyes to squint a bit, but was grateful that she was invisible so he could still at least see. 

Deku leaned out the window and looked down, afraid he’d find one or both of them laying injured against the concrete and was relieved to see that the boy landed safely. It took Gon a second to pry the girl off of him, but he managed. He looked up and made direct eye contact with the teen, gold meeting green, and he gave a small wave along with a bright, beaming smile. Deku stared wide eyed and amazed at what he just witnessed with the strange new kid. Was that a strength quirk? He had so many questions to ask him later. 

The two stayed for a bit outside the building before deciding to head to the check point. They momentarily debated over whether or not to go back for Sato but with Deku knowing where they were, they knew leaving would likely be the better option. When they arrived Aizawa was already there waiting for them with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Gon’s arm shot up in the air and he waved to the man as they approached him. Upon reaching him, the man informed them on their assignment progress. It turned out Sato got caught by Momo but the heroes won because, by some lucky twist of fate, the things that Gon grabbed was indeed the information they had to sneak in and steal.

“We did it!” Hagakure cheered, jumping up and down in joy.

“Yeah! Good job Hagakure!” Gon replied enthusiastically.

“Well you did most of the hard work.” 

He shook his head. “It was a team effort, and it wasn’t that hard.”

The invisible girl seemed to suddenly remember something and raised her gloved hand to tap her nose. “What was that thing you did earlier? Is your quirk super smell or something?” She asked.

The boy considered this for a moment and shook his head again. “I don’t think so. I just have a good sense of smell, that’s all.” 

“Yes, and on the subject of quirks…” A gruff voice cut in, catching both of their attention and directing it toward the tired man who stood off to the side, easily forgotten. “I announced the mission as completed. Freecss, come with me to see recovery girl. That question about your quirk, we might be getting an answer today.”

Gon nodded as the teacher turned around and began to walk away. He shifted to give Hagakure a brief smile and then rushed to catch up with Aizawa. Walking next to him, the boy looked like a tiny child compared to the man’s tall frame. As they walked in almost complete silence, the scene of the boys interaction during the training replayed in Aizawa’s mind. 

All within a minute- he timed it to the second- the boy had confidently determined the ceiling was going to cave in and acted on it with remarkable strength. There was a possibility that his quirk involved strength or physical enhancement, but that didn’t feel quite right. His senses told him that there was more to this boy’s abilities than meets the eye. During that moment when he watched through the screen he saw the relaxed expression on Gon’s face, as if kicking away multiple slabs of stone was as simple and bothersome as swatting a fly. A trembling sensation in his bones made him wonder if the boy was even stronger than himself. 

Aizawa shook his head imperceptibly. He was thinking too much and it was distracting him from the moment at hand. By now they were back in the school building and in front of the nurses office. They opened the door and the same short, old woman that greeted Gon when he first woke up, was standing by some equipment.

“Oh Aizawa, you’re here. That didn’t take too long.” Recovery girl said, making her way toward the boy standing beside him. 

“The training took less time then I expected it too.” He replied, sparing a quick glance at Gon.

“I see.” She muttered. “Well, sooner is better than later. Come here my boy, let’s get you that x-ray.”

“X-ray?” He wondered aloud.

“Yes, x-ray. To determine whether or not someone has a quirk an x-ray is given to those at a young age who are late in showing signs. Those with a quirk have to possess a certain bone in the foot that-” She paused upon noticing the faint steam drifting from the boys ears. His face was slightly slack and he looked completely lost so she didn’t bother explaining the rest.

“All you need to know is that an x-ray will tell us if you have a quirk or not.” Aizawa summarized. Gon nodded, understanding the simplified version of Recovery Girl’s explanation. 

They hooked him up to the equipment and waited a couple moments, letting it whir and beep and buzz. After a few minutes, the older woman moved around; inputting, retrieving, examining, and when she was done observing the final scan she turned to face the boy. She gave him a gentle look that contained a hint of pity and he looked back at her, confused as to why she would have such an expression. Instead of saying anything to him about the results, she turned to Aizawa and told him.

“He does not have a quirk.” 

The man was startled. Hearing it made no sense, considering the great show of power he displayed not too long before. If he had no quirk then where on Earth did he manage to get so strong? Scratch that, was he even a normal human being?

“You’re saying he’s… quirkless?”

“Did you hear me say anything else?” She retorted.

“No, but… That makes no sense.” He mumbled, brows furrowed and revealing his clear confusion. 

“Excuse me-” Gon cut in, raising his hand to direct the two adult’s attention toward him. “So I don’t have one of those cool quirk things that the other’s have?”

“Must I repeat myself for a third time.” Recovery girl sighed. “Yes. It means you don’t have any abilities like the other students do.”

Gon pondered this and nodded. He was kinda bummed to find out he wouldn’t be able to breathe fire or turn into a frog or something cool like that. But his Nen ability, as weakened as it was, could still be counted as a quirk, probably, so the news didn’t despair him any. While Gon was lost in thought, he realized the adult’s were talking about him in front of him again. The one speaking at the moment was Aizawa, he seemed a little distraught over the news, at least more so than Gon was. 

“How is he supposed to participate in the hero course if he has no quirk? What was Nezu thinking…”

“Mr. Aizawa, sir? If it helps at all I think I’ll be fine. If most of the physical training stuff is like what we did today, it shouldn’t be that hard for me.” The boy interrupted. 

“I understand you’re optimistic about this but-”

“Just let the boy be Aizawa. He’s made it this far without any problems… and hasn’t even come here injured after training no less! He’ll probably be fine.”

Aizawa was unsure, but looking at the two in front of him he knew he had no choice. The deal made between Gon and Nezu didn’t involve his opinion anyways, so what could he do.

“Alright fine. But you’re expected to work twice as hard to keep up, is that clear Freecss?” He said to the boy. 

Gon nodded confidently, his amber eyes glimmering and a gleaming smile stretched across his face. “Os! Oh, and Mr. Aizawa? Pleas call me Gon, it sounds weird to hear my last name so much.”

“Sure.” He responded. “That reminds me… you also need to study up on the culture here.”

Gon rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and made a sound of agreement. This was going to be a long, difficult month.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm sorry if this part is a little confusing. At the end of the chairman arc the theory is that Gon completely lost his Nen, but just for fun fanfic purposes that's not the case here. So in this story Gon didn't loose his Nen entirely he just used up way too much of it and has to wait for it replenish itself. I hope that makes sense. :)
> 
> Also again, thank you for all the comments and kudos- you guys make my world shine brighter!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day two of training, and Gon is already frightening people.

After his visit to the nurse’s office Gon returned to class. By the time he arrived the last group was finishing up the training exercise. The rest of the school day slipped by without anything notable happening. Gon sat through english, math, history, and overheated halfway through a lecture about algebra. It was nearing the end of the school day and he sat in his chair, torso pressed against the desk as he leaned forward, staring hard at the board. Although nothing that was written there made any sense to him, he refused to give up trying to understand.

When the final bell rang all the students got up to leave. Gon delayed at his desk, gathering his textbooks and loose leaf notes. His body moved a bit sluggishly and his head steamed from the overload of foreign lessons. His gaze lingered on a blue book in his hand that was labeled with the same strange characters as everything else he’d tried to read so far, and felt a hint of despair in the pit of his chest.

There was no way he’d be able to adjust to this new way of life easily… not without help. Gon shook his head to clear his thoughts and packed up the rest of his things, getting ready to leave the room. Before he could move away from his desk he sensed a presence approaching him from behind and turned to see who it was. The green haired teen from the training exercise stood behind him with an anxious expression, jolting when he realized he had the boy’s attention on him.

“Ah- hey Gon…” Izuku started, eyes darting around without making any direct contact.

“Hey Izuku! Good work earlier, you’re pretty strong.” Gon said.

“That’s what I wanted to say.” Izuku replied, chuckling awkwardly. “I wasn’t expecting your quirk to be so similar to mine.”

“Oh, about that, turns out I don’t have one.” He stated simply.

“I- what?”

“A quirk. Mrs. Recovery Girl said that apparently something’s wrong with my foot so I don’t have one.”

Izuku gaped at him, not really comprehending what he just heard. No quirk? But that didn’t make sense considering he witnessed the boy’s incredible strength first hand during their training. There was also no way that strength like that could be anything a normal person was capable of.

“You’re saying your… quirkless?” Izuku tried. He still doubted what the boy said and wanted to confirm.

“Mr. Aizawa said that earlier too. If that’s what it means to have no quirk then yeah, I guess so.” Gon replied, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.

“Then how did you-”

“HAH!?”

Izuku was instantly cut off by a loud voice. The two green haired boys turned to look at the angry blonde stomping his way over to them. A cold sweat broke out on the teen’s forehead while the shorter boy merely looked confused.

“The fuck did you just say half pint?!” Bakugo growled, invading the boy’s personal space.

Izuku put his hands up and attempted to get between the two of them, only receiving a death glare in return.

“Kacchan don’t-”

“SHUT YOUR MOUTH YOU DAMN DEKU, I’M NOT TALKING TO YOU!” He roared. Small crackles popped from his hands like stray flares from a sparkler. Gon’s gaze shifted from the green haired teen, to the angry blonde, down to his crackling hands, then back up again. He didn’t quite understand what was going on, but he could tell it wasn’t very good.

Although the atmosphere was dripping with toxic tension, the boy could tell that Bakugo wasn't a threat. He carried himself with an aura of faint hostility, but in actuality, at least to Gon, he was no more harmful than a mosquito. As he didn't feel threatened by the teen's attitude he chose to watch the scene unfold in front of him, uncomfortable with getting caught up in the crossfire.

Gon's mind caught up to the sudden outburst and he remembered the word Deku. It was the second time he heard it and he didn't know what it meant. The boy watched the stare down between the two teens and contemplated what to do. Tact was never his forte so he decided to be direct like he usually was.

"You said that last time too. Why do you call him Deku?" Gon asked, tilting his head to the side.

Actually, the more he thought about it, the more he realized it wasn't just his second time hearing it. He'd only been in the school for barely two days, but whenever he walked by Izuku and his small group of friends he heard one or two of them call him Deku then too.

Izuku's eyes widened and his gaze drifted down, a hint of shame in his expression. Bakugo on the other hand looked down at the boy and scoffed.

"Because he's useless, that's why." He said, throwing him a glare.

Gon blinked, confused. "I don't get it."

"What do you mean you don't get it?! Are you fucking stupid?! It means he's useless!" Bakugo spit out, his temper rising sharply. The boy frowned slightly in response and his brows furrowed.

"Hey! Don’t call me stupid! And you're calling him useless but I don't get why your saying that when he's not!" Gon replied, his voice laced with agitation.

"Useless is useless! What about that don't you fucking understand?!" Bakugo was shouting now. Some of the other students had turned there heads to see what was going on when they heard his voice.

"All of it!" Gon yelled back. There heads were lowered and gaze's locked in a glare, each one daring the other to back down.

Izuku's hands trembled from the nerves of being the topic of their argument. He took a step forward and put a hand on Gon's shoulder drawing his attention away from the growling blonde.

"Gon it's fine. You don't need to get so defensive on my behalf." Izuku spoke softly, attempting to calm the situation. However, Gon's stern look was directed to him instead.

"But you're not useless. In training earlier I could tell. If I hadn't already done it, I know you would have helped Hagakure. Plus you were really strong then too."

Izuku faintly blushed from the sudden praise and his eyes flitted around nervously. "I-I that's- y'know... I just- it's what a hero's supposed to do- right? Yeah."

Gon huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. The action pulled the fabric and one side of his jacket started to slip off his shoulder. "Still." He muttered. Bakugo ground his teeth at being ignored, yet managed to let out a steady breath and straightened up a bit before speaking again.

"Yeah, whatever. Hey brat, you said you were quirkless didn't you." He said to the boy. It wasn't a question but more of a confirmation. He looked at the blonde slowly and skeptically then nodded.

"Yeah. I did."

It was silent for a moment as the two had another stare down. Then Bakugo spoke up again.

"I don't believe you."

"Huh?" Gon's expression relaxed to reveal his clear confusion. He wasn't expecting that. "You don't believe me?" He asked, the irritation in his voice now nonexistent as it was replaced by curiosity.

"Did I fucking stutter?" Bakugo grumbled.

"No but...why not? Mr. Aizawa said-"

"I don't care what that old man says. I don't believe any of that shit." It was then that he invaded the boy's personal space once again. He jabbed his finger at him as he spoke. "I saw it with my own eyes. There's no way a freak like you can be that strong and not have a quirk."

"Well my grandma did use to say I was pretty strong for my age…"

"Shut up! Next chance we get, we're gonna fight. And you better not run away like a damn coward."

With that final comment, the teen let out a sharp 'tch' and stalked out the room, leaving the other two boys behind. Gon stood there for a moment, not sure if he should feel annoyed or confused. Did he do something to get on his bad side or something?

"Sorry about Kacchan... he's like that to everyone. Well- almost everyone" Izuku chimed in. "I suppose Kirishima is an exception..." he trailed of quietly.

"Nn... I'm not that mad or anything. I just didn't get why he said all those things. I mean, aren't you friends?" He asked.

Izuku sweat dropped and fiddled with his fingers. "Well you could say that... he's my childhood friend. Although we don't really get along anymore."

"How come?"

"Ah- that... I... I'm not really... sure."

Gon hummed in thought and turned his head to look out the window. The light of the sun filtered through the glass as it got ready to set beyond the horizon. The orange glow reflected in the boy's eyes, lighting it's honey color ablaze.

"Maybe you could talk to him about it? I don't know your situation but... A friend of mine taught me that you can't treat your friends like that." His gaze turned to look at Izuku who startled at the bright clearness within the boy's iris's.

"I... maybe. If I can." Izuku replied softly, a small smile playing at his lips. There was something in the way the boy looked at him when he spoke. A flash of something deeper and more knowing than anything he’d ever seen. The way he said what he did made Izuku really dwell on his words.

——

The next day Gon came to class in a uniform that actually fit him. At first he was surprised when he was on his way to the dorms and was pulled aside by Aizawa. He didn't expect his uniform to come in so quickly, but he was grateful. The feeling of his clothes slipping all the time really wasn't all that pleasant.

Students filled the room within minutes, the air alive with chatter as they settled in. Classes started off the same way they had the day before. Long lectures written in a dialect that Gon was incapable of interpreting, and subjects that he’d never heard of. He fought hard to focus on the lessons but couldn’t fend off the thin lines of steam streaming from his ears.

He needed to find someone who was willing to help him learn and adjust or he wouldn’t get anywhere before the month was over.

After one of his classes ended he remained sitting in his seat, his brows knitted tightly together as he tried to figure out what he should do. Gon was not known for coming up with plans in advance, that was more of Killua’s strength. But Killua wasn’t here for him now and now he had to take care of everything on his own.

The boy’s head collided with the desk and he let out frustrated whine, his head making a ‘thunk’ when it met the hard surface. His hands tangled in his hair as he scrunched his eyes shut, brain in scrambles from all the thinking he’d been doing. Gon was so used to living day by day, moment by moment, that he found having to actually sit and plan fairly difficult.

“I don’t get how Killua’s so good at stuff like this… he’s so amazing.” Gon grumbled to himself with his face pressed against the desk.

“Kill who?” The sudden voice prompted the boy to quickly raise his head to face whoever spoke.

Kirishima stood in front of his desk, one arm leaning against its surface and a bright, sharp toothed smile on his face. A similar smile stretched across Gon’s face as he remembered the red haired teen and the kind interactions they’d had previously.

“Kirishima! Good morning!” He greeted, sitting up in his seat. “I was just thinking about a friend of mine from back home.”

“That’s cool! Hey I wanted to ask you something.” Kirishima said, his eyes containing a faint glimmer.

“Sure, shoot.” He responded.

“So I saw you in training yesterday and… I was wondering if you could train with me today?” He requested, his expression resembling that of a begging puppy. “Your strength is super manly and I’m thinking it might help me improve my ultimate move!”

“Ultimate move?” Gon questioned. He hadn’t heard much about quirk training and wasn’t sure just how close it was to training a Nen ability. Especially now that it was confirmed that he didn’t have a quirk, he was unsure how he should go about taking the lessons involving physical strength and the likes.

“Yeah, it’s my unbreakable form. I wanna see how much damage it can take. And I overheard that we might be working on our ultimate moves for the exam today so… what do you say?” Kirishima finished. Gon thought about it for a second and saw no harm in helping. A part of him was curious about this ‘unbreakable form’ he spoke of, and wanted to see just how much of his Nen had returned since he got here.

“Sure! If you think I can be of any help.” Gon replied happily. Relief washed over the teens face and his shoulders slumped forward a bit.

“Awesome! Thanks bro, I owe you one.” He replied, making a small fist pump gesture in the air before waving and returning to his seat.

The boy pondered the concept of an unbreakable form. Was it like an advanced form of ken or was it completely different? The more the idea buzzed around his skull the more fidgety the boy got. He didn’t want to sit and listen to lectures that didn’t make sense, he wanted to DO things. He wanted to go back home. He had to find a way to get back, no matter what.

With that final thought, the bell rang signaling the end of break and the start of the next class. Like the day before, Aizawa walked in with the same sleep deprived look and unshaven face. However, unlike yesterday the man was encased in a large yellow sleeping bag that sharply contrasted with his dark hair and gloomy look. Gon found it odd, but judging by the reactions of the other students he assumed it must have been a normal occurrence.

“Good morning class.” He began, slowly unzipping the sleeping bag and stepping out of it. “Today we will continue to train for the exam, so suit up and head over to Gym Gamma.”

Like the day before, all the students suited up in their hero costumes and gathered together to prepare for training. After the teacher gave them a brief word of encouragement, they dispersed to get to work on their individual abilities.

Gon stood off to the side and watched them, somewhat confused as to what was going on. Aizawa was beside him, silently observing his class while also being keenly aware of how lost the boy seemed to be. Although he said nothing, the slight crease of his brow revealed his concern. The man believed that Gon was upset because of the discovery that he was quirkless and pitied him for having to still partake in a trial run he likely wouldn’t have a chance of succeeding in.

Aizawa thought this, but on the contrary Gon thought differently. As he stood there, watching as one teen sprayed acid on a practice target and another shoot a laser beam from his belly, he debated on how he could participate. He had also promised to help Kirshima train but wasn’t quite sure how to go about doing that. His Nen was still weak but it was a good opportunity to test his current strength. The boy’s head turned to look up at Aizawa who kept his gaze straight ahead.

“Mr. Aizawa, I have a question.” He said, bright amber eyes intense as they focused on the man’s face. He made a quiet sound of discomfort at the boy’s burning stare.

“What is it?” The man replied monotonously.

“What are they doing? Like… What's this training for?” He asked. “I know yesterday was to practice for reco- uh recone…”

“Reconnaissance.”

“Yeah that! But you didn’t say what today’s for.” Gon finished. It was then that Aizawa’s eyes slid over to meet the boy’s gaze. He kept silent for a moment before sighing.

“They are practicing their ultimate moves.” He answered finally.

Gon made an ‘O’ shape with his mouth and looked back at the students, catching one particular red haired teen whose skin had a strange bark like texture. “Kirishima mentioned something like that earlier.”

“Yes, it’s good to have set skills when becoming a hero. That’s what I’m training them to do.” Aizawa said, also turning back to continue watching the students.

Gon pondered this and suddenly remembered something. He let out a loud ‘AH!,’ the unexpectedly loud sound slightly startling the man.

“I get it! I have one of those!” He said, eyes twinkling in excitement.

Aizawa was surprised to say the least. A quirkless boy with questionable strength but no knowledge of hero society, it was easy to not believe what he said. Despite this, he seemed confident in himself. The man contemplated how he should respond considering if Gon was speaking nonsense then he could potentially get hurt. Granted, Aizawa had seen his strength and he himself was curious just to how far that strength went.

“You’re telling me to believe you have a special move of your own.” Aizawa said, his expression was one of absolute disinterest. However the flash deep within his eyes showed otherwise.

“Nn! It’s called Jajanken.” Gon said.

“You mean like… rock, paper, scissors?” He was highly skeptical, but what else would he expect from a thirteen year old. “Alright… alright. Fine. If what you’re saying is true, which I doubt, how about you show me.” He tried, not quite sure if he was trying to call the boy’s bluff or see if it was really true. He would admit, he was curious.

“Okay! Can I try it over there? I don’t want to break anything I shouldn’t.” Gon replied, pointing at an unoccupied section of the mountain type structure in the training room.

Aizawa made a gesture with his hand, signaling for the boy to go ahead. A gleaming grin stretched across Gon’s face and he bounced on his toes for a second before rushing over. The teacher stayed where he was and observed the boy as he stopped in front of a large wall of stone.

When Gon reached the spot he stood stalk still. The first thing he would need to do was activate his Nen. Although he’d been meditating and working hard on bringing back his Nen since he returned to whale island, it still felt a bit stiff and it took him more time than usual to get it flowing. When his aura output was at a comfortable level, the boy bent his knees and lowered himself into position. His focus was set on gathering the Nen in his hands, a bright ball of light and energy forming slowly but surely. Feeling the energy coursing through his veins the smile on the boy’s face got even bigger.

Aizawa watched in amazement, witnessing the force growing in his hands. It was strong. No doubt. Even though he was standing far away he could feel the intense pressure pressing down on his shoulders and tearing through the air. Small pieces of stone and dust swirled around the boy and even a few students close by paused as they felt the overbearing energy.

“Jan…” Gon muttered. The ground pulsed beneath him.

In that split second Aizawa’s instincts ignited. His body was screaming, and he realized why. Whatever it was the boy was going to do… it was dangerous. Unconsciously he prepared to use his quirk, completely forgetting that the day before the boy had been officially diagnosed as quirkless.

“Ken…” Gon’s hair rustled slightly. His attention was hyper focused on his fists and the wall in front of him. The ground beneath his feet cracked.

It was then that Aizawa decided to act. His dark hair lifted from his shoulders and eyes glinted red as he trained his quirk on the boy. Although it was activated, he grit his teeth upon realizing that Gon was completely unaffected and seemed to increase his strength even more. Quickly he gave up on that strategy and called out to Gon, but he couldn’t hear him over the blood rushing in his ears.

“Rock!” He yelled and launched his fist at the stone, his knuckles making heavy contact with the hard surface. Air rushed out from around him and forced the teacher to shield his face. All the students had stopped what they were doing by now and some of them made sounds of worry as the giant structure shook violently. Just as Aizawa was about to take a step forward, everything stopped.

Gon removed his fist from the gigantic dent in the stone and looked at his knuckles that were tinged a light shade of brown. The air was painfully still and not even a single breath could be heard. Then came the sound of crunching and low grumbling. Gon and Aizawa watched as a crack formed from the dent and shot upwards, splitting open into a narrow gap in the stone, until it reached the very top.

Gon sighed and flexed his hand. “Still not back to full strength…” He said to himself, brows slightly furrowed.

Aizawa broke out of his daze and his heart stuttered. His throat felt dry and his legs weak. A part of him believed that he was going to destroy the entire structure, but now he relaxed knowing that everything was alright. But he couldn’t brush aside the great display of power the boy showed. The man walked up him, somewhat cautious. A thin film of sweat covered the back of his neck and his heart thumped, not yet over the amount of fear he felt only moments ago.

“Gon.” He said upon reaching the boy. His gaze lit up and he smiled up at the man.

“Mr. Aizawa! What did you think? Not too bad right?” He asked eagerly, eyes glittering. The man looked hard at him.

“I think we should talk about this later.” He said instead of answering his questions. Gon deflated a bit but was mostly confused.

“Huh? Okay… I guess I didn’t do all that great then.” He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “But if it means anything… I wasn’t at full strength.”

“What?”

“Ah- oh. Something happened to me a little while ago and I almost died so my strength is kinda at a low point right now. But I’m trying to get it back!” Gon answered confidently, puffing out his chest to show his drive and determination. Aizawa was still reeling from what the boy said before that he thought he imagined what he said after. Low point? Almost died? Everything that came out of the Gon’s mouth sounded questionable and concerning. At this point Aizawa had already gotten over the possibility of the boy just being an amnesiac and knew there was much more to this then it seemed. If what he did just then was only a hint as to what the boy was truly capable of, then he’d need to get to the bottom of things and soon.

“That’s-” He sighed. “Let’s stop there for today. You can go back first.”

“Eh? But class isn’t even over yet! And I promised I’d train with Kirishima.” Gon whined, unhappy that he wasn’t allowed to join in with the other students. He knew he was weak but he couldn’t have been weak enough to be considered unworthy of training with them.

“Gon. We’re done here.” Aizawa stated firmly, his tone demanding.

Gon felt a bit betrayed. To his knowledge he hadn’t done anything wrong. In the end he didn’t hurt anyone or break anything. He couldn’t understand why he wasn’t allowed to participate like everyone else. Although he thought this he didn’t say anything. Gon released a small sigh and nodded.

“Yes sir…” He said softly, head hanging low as he passed the stoic teacher and left. Aizawa watched the boy go and couldn’t pull his gaze away for a while.

_That kid… is not normal._


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gon clarifies some things and makes other things more confusing. He's the reason the school staff are extra stressed out.

The room was so silent one could hear a pin drop. The tension in the air was thick and heavy as the two sat facing each other. Gon sat on the couch facing opposite Principal Nezu, both of them holding a steaming cup of tea in there hands. The boy didn’t understand why he was here when he hadn’t done anything wrong.

After Aizawa told Gon to leave the gym he made it to as far as the classroom before someone came and directed him to a room where Nezu was waiting for him. When a minute passed with nothing but the sound of a ticking clock and Nezu’s unblinking gaze, the boy decided to speak up.

“Um… principal Nezu, why am I here?” He asked with the tone of someone who had been wronged. And he genuinely believed that he was.

“I heard about what happened in training today.” The creature responded, not answering the boy’s question. “Right after Recovery Girl confirmed that you were quirkless, too.”

Gon grumbled, staring into the cup of untouched liquid that reflected his frustrated expression. His brain replayed the scene where he was given permission to use his ability and doing nothing more than punching a stone wall. It couldn’t be that they were mad over the crack his punch created considering the other students had been smashing up parts of the stone structure themselves. So why was he in trouble already? Nezu observed the boy’s reaction and took a sip from his own cup.

“This is unfair!” Gon suddenly yelled. “Everyone wants me to do this and that ever since I woke up, and you all talk about these things I don’t understand like I’m just supposed to get it! But I don’t!” He huffed, fingers pressed tightly against the ceramic and causing a tiny crack to form.

“I know. It has come to my attention that we really haven’t thought about what you may be going through since arriving here.” Nezu put down his cup of tea and kept his beady eyes on the boy as he spoke. “After being informed about what happened today, I figured it would be good to sit down and talk.”

The tension in Gon’s shoulder’s eased and he leaned back a bit, expression softening. “So... I’m not in trouble?” He asked cautiously.

“No, you're not in trouble. I just got to thinking about how we really don’t know anything about you… So, how about you tell me all about this place you come from, and we can go from there.” He suggested lightly.

The boy’s eyes lit up, a twinkling light within blazing amber, and he sat up straight on the couch. The eagerness was plain on his face. “Okay!” Gon replied.

The next few hours were spent with Nezu listening intently to Gon’s story. He made excitable gestures with his hands and the gleaming grin never once slipped from his face as he spoke. He talked about Whale Island and his Aunt Mito, about his father and the hunter exam. He explained each of his adventures after earning his Hunter’s license, from Heaven’s Arena to the NGL and the Chimera Ants. Only when reminiscing about Kite and his battle against Pitou did his tone and expression falter, but it was short lived when he spoke about Killua and his sister. He omitted parts here and there that he deemed not worth mentioning or were too personal to be shared.

Every word that came from his mouth was full of excitement, pride, and fondness. With every little detail and the way he delivered his story, there was no doubt in Nezu’s mind that boy was being completely honest. Unfortunately, that was the frightening part. It was extremely hard for Nezu to believe everything at first, but the more he said the more uneasy he got.

He had believed his feeling of uncertainty toward the boy in the beginning had been a false alarm, but it was justified now. This boy had seen death and killed with his own two hands, which was more than any hero he’d ever come across. He’d encountered people stronger than Nezu could have ever imagined, and survived while even befriending some of them. By the time Gon finished telling his tale with a glittering expression, the creature had a cold sweat on his back. Gon was not a normal kid. He was a monster.

“My dad thought I was weird for going back to Whale Island after all that happened, but I wanted to see Aunt Mito.” Gon said while focusing on the bright green toes of his boots. Nezu swallowed dryly but maintained an unshakable expression.

“So, if I’m understanding this correctly, you’re saying that this… Nen- ability of yours is gone now?” He asked, listening intently, anxiously.

“Not exactly. After defeating Pitou everything else was a blur. I woke up in a hospital and couldn’t use my Nen.” Gon recounted, flexing one of his hands, the one he lost in that bitter battle. “A few months later when I tried to awaken it again, it came back but it was weak. It’s taking a while but it’s not completely gone.”

Nezu nodded and digested. He realized what Aizawa was worried about. This could simply be ramblings and fabricated stories of a child, but under the assumption that everything he said was true… then there was a problem.

The system Gon was used to, his original way of life, was not something the people of the hero society followed. There was a chance he’d be able to get Gon to adapt to it, yet there was no real guarantee. The issue was that the boy was a very opinionated child that they knew absolutely nothing about. They didn’t know if there was a chance that he’d snap and attack others. No one knew if he could be controlled.

The room was silent while these thoughts buzzed through Nezu’s head. He understood that he might just be worried for nothing, but the existence of this threat was lucid, like a nightmare one couldn’t wake up from. For now he decided to treat the boy kindly but with great caution, after all from what he’d seen Gon was just like every other boy his age. Just a bit... stronger.

Nezu let out an imperceptible sigh and fixed his gaze on the kid. “Right, for now our deal still stands and you can do everything as normal. We’ll be more considerate toward you considering your situation,”

“Ah, that’s grea-”

“However.”

Gon was momentarily surprised but quieted down to hear the rest of what he had to say.

“I need you to be extra conscious of your strength if you’re going to train around the other students.” Nezu set his conditions and waited for the boy’s response.

Gon blinked in confusion. “But… I’m pretty weak right now though?”

“You may think so, but where your from…” He sighed, not quite sure how to word his thoughts. “The way things are done where you’re from is different. Including your strength and abilities. As much as I hate to say it, the students of this world may be weaker than you so I just want to be careful.”

“Ah, I think I get it. That makes sense why Mr. Aizawa was so upset before.” The boy muttered to himself.

_That was because he feared that you were too strong for even him to handle_. Nezu thought, but refrained from saying anything out loud.

With that settled and the Principal’s new conditions put in place, Gon said goodbye to Nezu and left the room. Outside the door Aizawa was waiting, a sharp cautious look in his eyes. Gon smiled up at him nervously and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. Now that he had a better understanding of the situation and was able to vent out his stress and frustrations, he felt a little guilty for worrying the man.

“Hey Mr. Aizawa… uh… Sorry for what happened in the gym.” Gon said nervously. Aizawa continued to stare at him for a bit, eyes unblinking as he observed the boy.

“A warning next time would be nice.” He said in a deep tone.

“Yeah… To be fair, where I’m from people would say that I’m weaker than normal. So I thought… y’know.”

Aizawa nodded his head slightly. He knew he would have to speak to the principal later in order to fully understand what he meant by that.

“Hm, well let’s return to the dorms for now. Try not to cause any more trouble alright?”

Gon smiled and nodded, but it felt like he was trying to say ‘I’ll try.’ The man turned and walked away without another word, the boy bouncing along behind him as usual. And as per usual, Aizawa drifted off in thought.

While Aizawa had been waiting for Gon to leave the Principal’s office, he had been approached by another teacher. Cementoss, the teacher responsible for the structures in the gym, had spoken to him while he was on his way to the office after class. What he heard made his eyes widen and caused a shiver to run down his spine.

According to Cementoss, the damage done from Gon’s punch was more than they expected. When they observed the crack, they discovered that the boy had actually split the entire structure apart from top to bottom, all the way through. The only reason nothing collapsed was because the bottom half was untouched, more or less. With a single punch that the boy considered ‘weak’ he could tear a giant boulder twenty times his size in half.

“Um..” Aizawa was pulled out of his pool of thoughts upon hearing the hesitant sound come from beside him. His head turned to see the boy looking at the ground in front, a small crease between his brows. “I have a question…”

“Don’t you always.” Aizawa sighed, although the tone in his voice was light and attentive. “What is it this time?”

Gon fidgeted with his fingers, curling them and uncurling them a few times before responding. “Is… would it be okay if I took the hero license exam too?” He asked. Aizawa stared at him incredulously.

Gon held out little hope that he’d be allowed to participate after everything that happened so far. In truth he didn’t quite know why he wanted to try it out in the first place. After all, when he returned home he wouldn’t need it anymore. Maybe the thought of pushing his limits and experiencing something totally new was the driving force behind his question. Perhaps it was the way the other students seemed so hyped up and dedicated that made him want to understand what all the buzz was about. Regardless, he had already asked the question and patiently waited for an answer.

Aizawa genuinely thought about this. There were plenty of reasons he should say no, but there were also plenty of reasons why he could say yes. The blank expression, partially hidden by a gray scarf, gave Gon no insight as to what the man thought.

“I’d like to give you a straight answer but I can’t… I don’t know enough of this situation to make a decision. Nor is it my territory to say whether a student can take the exam or not, but I’ll bring it up with the Principal.” Aizawa finally replied.

Gon nodded and a relieved smile stretched across his face. Aizawa glanced at the boy from the corner of his eye and said nothing else. It disturbed him how with one look from his glittering amber eyes and bright smile, he immediately felt guilty for ever doubting him. However he could sense just what kind of storm he was capable of bringing in. Gon would bring him more trouble than Izuku or Bakugo ever did, he felt this down to his bones.

The problem was that he couldn't tell if he minded it or not. He knew he should be cautious as a teacher responsible for protecting the other students under his care. Yet, even though it had only been a short while, he couldn't help but find that the boy was growing on him. In his mind, Aizawa compared Gon to a puppy that was introduced to a new world with new people and wanted to be involved with all of it. He bounced around with the energy of a puppy.

No one could see the subtle curve of the man’s mouth from beneath his scarf, but it was there.

When the two of them arrived at the lounge in the student dorms the sun had already lowered beneath the trees. The soft orange of the sky gave way to the cool purple of dusk and the trees on the mountain became little more than dark silhouettes against the fading light. They got inside to see many of the students sitting around and chatting, although the atmosphere was swiftly broken by the sound of the front door creaking open. Multiple gazes snapped over to the two who had just entered the room. Aizawa placed his hand on Gon’s shoulder, giving it a sturdy pat, before walking away and leaving him behind.

Once Aizawa was out of sight, the boy was bombarded with people and questions for the thousandth time since arriving in the world. He had barely stepped one foot away from the door and his head was already spinning from the onslaught of attention.

“Guys... please.” Gon muttered helplessly, holding his hands up in front of him as a weak attempt of defense. Unlike the times before, the group quieted down and let the boy relax. Gon exhaled in relief before giving them a little grin.

“How come you keep getting called out like that little dude?” Denki asked once the noise settled down and the group migrated to the couches.

“Ah- I guess everyone’s still figuring out what to do with me. I’m still new to this whole school thing so…” Gon said, sounding nonchalant and faintly resigned.

Mina caught on to something in the boy’s words that she found curious. “New to the school thing? You mean like high school in general or U.A. Specifically?”

Gon shook his head. “I mean school in general.”

“I don’t understand, what do you mean?” Another girl, Uraraka, asked. Her wide brown eyes held confusion and the slightest traces of concern.

“Oh, I’ve never been to school before.” He replied easily. That got the students riled up. “Although my Aunt Mito would teach me stuff at home.”

“Wait so…” Kirishima spoke up. “Not to sound rude or anything… But then how did you get into U.A.? Were you recommended or..?” Now everyone was eager to hear the answer to this question.

Gon merely shrugged, his expression revealing his honesty. “I don’t know, it just sort of...happened? It’s kinda hard to explain.”

The students looked at him in curiosity. This boy seemed to have appeared out of nowhere under strange circumstances and found himself in the number one hero school in the country. Nothing about him made sense but at the same time, remembering his little demonstration from earlier in the day, it made some sense.

“Going back to you getting called out, mind telling us what the epic punch was?” Sero chimed in, arms crossed and pressed against the back of the couch as he leaned over it.

In the far corner of the room, a teen had walked in unnoticed by the group. Upon hearing what Sero said, his red eyes slid over to gaze at them lazily, waiting to hear the response that was sure to follow.

“That- ah… it’s my ability.” Gon said and some of the students looked at him in disbelief.

The teen eavesdropping on the conversation ground his teeth harshly, sending waves of irritation toward the boy who sensed it immediately but chose to ignore it. On one of the couches, Izuku sat listening intently with eyes wide and mouth agape. His brain floundered around for a way to connect all the things he believed to be true.

Izuku was close by during the incident and had seen what the boy did. This happened the day after the boy had admitted to being quirkless. Clearly that statement was incorrect, but he had said it with so much confidence that he found it hard to believe he was lying. Gon said ability instead of quirk but the point remained that he contradicted himself.

“Knew it… Fucking liar.” Izuku caught the grumbling voice of Bakugo, who pretended to be uninterested in the group’s conversation. He knew what the teen was upset about and was similarly a bit bothered. Although he was still unsure, he didn’t want to put the boy on the spot so he decided to ask him more about it later.

It was then that Gon seemed to remember something important. “Hey guys, can I ask you something?”

Some of the students nodded while others made a sound to signal that he could continue. The boys gaze traveled over the room, like he was trying to determine something.

“So because I’m in a weird situation with the school and everything… Is there anyone who’d be willing to help me, y’know, study and learn stuff?” He asked anxiously, eyes leaving the teenagers halfway through to stare at his hands that grasped his knees.

Gon felt nervous asking for help, and a little bit guilty. But he knew that he really needed the help. He couldn’t understand anything that was written on paper and that only helped him spiral into confusion whenever he tried to learn what the school tried to teach him. Having so many people around him, one of them was bound to be able to assist him.

“Sure, anyone of us could probably help bro!” Kirshima spoke up, raising a thumb and grinning widely at the boy. “Although, the ones who’d probably be the most helpful is Yaoyorozu, Iida, Bakugo, and Midoriya.”

“Eh- me?” Izuku squeaked.

“Yeah dude, didn’t you rank fourth in the midterms?” Denki added, draping an arm over the flustered teen’s shoulders.

“I guess so..”

The chatter slowly directed to Izuku and while their attention was diverted, Gon caught sight of the blonde standing off to the side. His gaze met Bakugo’s sharp look and they held eye contact for a moment before Bakugo grunted and left the room. Gon blinked, not quite understanding what his deal was. He brushed off the thought and joyously returned to the conversation, relishing in the bright airy atmosphere and the relief it brought him from the stressful thoughts that plagued him earlier in the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I've said it before but I'll say it a million times more. I read all your comments and you guys keep me writing, thank you for being so amazing, I love all of you. ^///v///^ <3


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Gon becomes friends with the last person he expected to.

That evening Gon’s head was filled to the brim with thoughts of the day’s events. He learned so much and shared so much that he wasn’t quite sure where he currently stood in the grand scheme of things. The sky outside was an inky black and the students left one by one to go to bed. Feeling the slight dip in his energy that settled around his mind in a cloudy haze, he went off to bed himself. 

His trek through the empty hallways was quiet, only interrupted by the gentle hum of the overhead lights. When he reached his door he found someone leaning against the wall right outside of his room. The boy’s head tilted in curiosity but his gaze sharpened as he recognized who it was. He was cautious, knowing this particular teen didn’t seem to like him very much.

“Took you long enough.” Bakugo said gruffly. Gon approached and slowed to a stop in front of the teen but made no move to try to get past him. 

They both knew he was perfectly capable of shoving him aside. Bakugo quietly despised the fact that he knew to be true. Just like some of the staff, his gut warned him of the dangerous energy encasing the boy, so he kept his rage in check, just barely.

“You’re… Bakugo Katsuki, right? The guy who kept calling Izuku useless.” Gon narrowed his eyes, suspicious of the blonde’s intentions.

“Shut up. I never gave you permission to say my name half-pint.” He growled low under his breath, a weak threat.

“I didn’t think that was something people needed permission for.” Gon shot back, his words laced with a pointed sternness. “What do you want.”

Bakugo’s teeth clenched, his hands were in his pockets but tightened all the same. This kid was really getting on his nerves. He grunted, arms crossing over his chest, as he looked down on the boy.

“I thought you said you were quirkless.” He said accusingly, eyes narrowed.

“I am.”

“No. I called you on your bullshit and what you did earlier proved me right. Don’t fucking lie to my face again.”

“But I didn’t… oh.” The boy suddenly recalled everything he had discussed with Nezu, including the differences in strength and abilities. Thinking about this, he realized how confusing he must be.

“I don’t have a quirk, what happened before was different.”

Bakugo’s nose scrunched up in disgust. This kid- “I can’t talk to you with your stupid nonsense. If whatever that was makes you think you’re stronger than me and you’re wrong.”

Gon’s expression was torn between annoyance and guilt for not making sense. He was aware just how frustrated he’d made Killua when he didn’t understand something and had to have his best friend explain it to him ten times over. Or not at all if he gave up half way through an attempt at explaining.

“Still… you don’t have to be so mean about it.” Gon mumbled, eyes drifting off to the side.

“Whatever.” Bakugo pushed himself off the wall and turned to leave. “Watch yourself freak.” He spat before finally leaving the boy alone in the hallway.

Gon remained standing there in front of his dorm room, gaze lingering down the hall where the teen had gone. The way Bakugo thought was difficult, there was little reason for the blonde to feel the need to attack him so he found himself feeling a bit distressed. Although there was something in the way the he behaved that made Gon get a sense of familiarity, like he’d seen it before. According to Izuku though, his attitude was pretty normal, yet that didn’t entirely shake the strange feeling from Gon’s head.

The boy released a light sigh and pulled his sight to the door, opening it and entering his room. Whether or not he’d ever get along with everyone and eventually adapt to the strange and confusing world he found himself in was something only the fates would know.

\----

After everything that happened, Gon found that he had trouble falling asleep that night. He tossed and turned for hours, old memories and new ones flashing through his mind like a never ending movie. The stressful activity of his brain made him restless and he felt the urge to run. 

It was late in the middle of the night. The dorms were completely silent, save for the subtle snores coming from behind some of the closed doors. It was dark but clear, stars spattered the night sky and framed a pale glowing moon.

Under the cover of said darkness, Gon slipped quietly between the shadows and down the hall. Every now and again he would stop and sniff the air or strain his ears to listen for any nearby sounds. He didn’t want to risk getting caught by a patrolling teacher so he would often pause to check if anyone was close by. 

Eventually he’d made his way to the front lobby, passing the kitchen without stopping to see if he could sense anyone nearby. The sight of the front door fueled the fire for his mission, distracting him and making his heart thump in anticipation. He was only about half way to the door when a sudden voice came from behind him.

“What are you doing, freak.” The deep gruff voice belonged to one of his new classmates. The one that really didn’t like him. The one who confronted him only hours before. Gon flinched and slightly turned his head to peek at the blonde standing a few feet away from him, a clear glass of water held in his hand.

“Nothing much, just- thought about going for a walk.” Gon replied, a sheepish smile on his face. He was a terrible liar and he knew it. 

“At this time of night? Hah, as if I’d believe a stupid excuse like that.” Bakugo spat back, voice low enough to be heard by the boy in front of him. Although he spoke quietly, he wasn’t aware of just how sharp the boy’s hearing really was. He could speak softer and still be heard clearly, not that he knew that of course.

“Yeah, I’m pretty bad at lying so I’m not surprised.” Gon admitted easily. Bakugo gave him a look of pure irritation, but the boy only continued. “I couldn’t sleep. Running through the forest at home would make me feel better so...” the boy fiddled with his fingers a bit as he spoke, looking like a child with his hand caught in the cookie jar. “I was just gonna run to the bottom of the mountain and back.”

“Tch. Whatever you damn brat.” Bakugo grumbled, preparing to turn around and head back to his room.

“Ah! Hey Katsuki, wanna come with me?” Gon said brightly, bubbling with a strange enthusiasm that slightly bothered the loud blond. It seemed like the boy forgot all his previous caution and distaste. His brow twitched in irritation at the casual use of his first name.

“Hah? Who the fuck said you could call me that?!” He growled.

“But... isn’t that your name?” Gon responded innocently. Bakugo ground his teeth in frustration at the boy’s idiocy.

“That doesn’t mean!- ah whatever it’s too late for this shit. I’m going back to bed.” 

“Oh okay! Then I’ll just go out for a bit!” Gon was about to send off the blonde with a ‘Goodnight’ but caught the fierce look in his eyes when their gaze made contact. 

He blinked and decided instead to turn back around and head to the front door. It was quiet again, only the soft sound of the boys boots against the wooden floor could be heard. However, Gon could still smell the sweet, charred scent of burnt caramel, which let him know that bakugo hadn’t quite left yet. Although he noticed this, he didn’t pay much attention to it and continued to make his way to the door.

“Hey, Freak.” The boy paused but didn’t turn around, waiting for Bakugo to continue. He seemed to be thinking about something and only finished speaking when he made up his mind. “I’ll go too. Just to make sure you don’t do something stupid.” 

Gon’s head turned a bit to look at the blond from the side. A beaming grin climbed onto the boys face that made his eyes light up with an amber glow. The more he interacted with the teen the more he reminded him of a grumpier but less threatening version of Killua. His attitude was prickly but Gon couldn’t find it in himself to get upset.

“Nn!” He nodded, bounding out the door with Bakugo close behind. He let out an annoyed ‘tch’ at the boys hyper behavior but said nothing.

The two of them walked to the edge of the forest line. They stood side by side, one looking grumpy yet indifferent, and the other literally bouncing on his toes. Bakugo suspected that he probably wouldn’t get caught by any teachers while he was out here, but if he learned anything about Gon, it was that he caused more trouble than Deku. He didn’t want to deal with anymore annoying problems, especially not while this kid was around. 

After a moment of silence, Gon revealed his true purpose for inviting him along on his night time trip. “Hey Katsuki! Wanna race?”  
“You damned brat- I told you, stop calling me that!” He yelled back. His brain delayed and suddenly caught up with what the boy had just asked. “Race?”

“Yeah! Like to the bottom of the mountain and back. Whoever gets here first wins!” Bakugo considered this while Gon continued to talk. “But since we have to be quiet, we can’t use our... uh... quirks- so it’s a no quirk race.” The boy said this, although he himself didn’t actually have a quirk. He didn’t think nen counted as one but he treated it like one anyway. Besides, Bakugo didn’t believe he was quirkless and there was no need to bring that argument back up again. 

The blonde would have argued against the condition of not using quirks, but the kid had a point. Regardless of whatever tough front he put up, he needed to have a clean record at this school. Getting caught running around the woods at night and breaking curfew would definitely blemish that record, if only just a little. 

He glared hard at the boy who only returned his burning gaze with an unwavering smile, eyes full of excitement. The enthusiasm pumping through this kids veins really put him off.

“Fine. But don’t whine to me when you lose.” Bakugo huffed angrily. The boy nodded and was about to turn to face the woods when a sudden idea popped into his head and had him looking at the blonde again.

“Hey, If I win, could you tutor me? Learning the writing system here is really hard.” Gon requested. Bakugo flinched imperceptibly and glowered at the boy’s bold request.

“Hah? And why would I agree to helping you, shitty brat.” He spat, although the boy wasn’t phased by the venom in his tone. His attitude had stopped bothering him since a while ago. 

Gon tapped his finger on his chin as he thought hard on how to convince him. He had heard Bakugo was one of the top in the class regarding grades, so it’d be a good opportunity. Shortly he came up with a solution, his finger lifting to point in Bakugo’s direction which he instantly shoved away.

“How about if you win, then you can ask me for something!” He suggested.

“No, I’m not helping a freak like you do shit.”

“Aw come, oooooonnnn! Just this once! Pleeeeeeaaaase!!” Gon whined loudly while taking hold of Bakugo’s arm. 

The sudden contact angered the blond and he attempted to rip his arm away, however, the boy’s vice like grip was problematic and he couldn’t escape. A bead of sweat trickled down his face and his heart pounded at the steady increase in volume of the boy’s voice. If he didn’t pipe down they were bound to get found out by someone very soon.

“SHUT UP! FINE! Fucking fine! I’ll accept your stupid challenge.” He spat out, pulling his arm back the second he noticed the boys grip slacken. Gon’s eyes twinkled under the starry night sky. Flecks of light in his honey brown eyes flowed within their depths and made him look all the more dazzling.

“Grea-“

“But, if I win...” he sharply interrupted the boy, glaring down at him from his height. “I want you to fight me. No holding back. Use ever ounce of power you got and fight me. Understand?” 

“Got it.” Gon nodded vigorously, his head bobbing and making his spiky green hair dance where it stood. Bakugo scoffed and turned to face the woods, a new found flame in his eyes. The boy followed suit, the material of his shoes crunching as he crouched into a running position. 

“Three... two... one... go!” Gon yelled, and they both took off into the woods with extreme speed. 

Bakugo tore through the trees, his powerful legs propelling him off the ground and forward. His thicker build had the potential to slow him down but his strength and raw power made up for that. On the other hand, gon’s nimble body had him hopping gracefully over exposed tree roots and inconveniently placed stones. Occasionally he took to the trees, swinging from the branches or running along one particularly long limb of a tree. 

Gon was slightly ahead of Bakugo, as he was both small, agile, but naturally very strong. The gap between them slowly increased as a tingling sensation burst through the young boys legs and made his heart pound. The familiar rush of moving through the forest and running in general made him pick up more speed the further he went. Bakugo however, refused to be left behind by a child with freak strength. With an aggravated yell, he pushed himself to catch up. 

Just as they were about half way down the mountain, a small sound reached Gon’s ears, and caused him to stop abruptly in his tracks. Bakugo who was only a few feet behind but quickly catching up, noticed the boy stopped moving and slowed down himself.

“What the hell freak! Don’t just stop in the middle, are you looking down on me?!” He yelled only to have his mouth suddenly covered by the smaller boy’s hand. 

His face burned with anger. How dare this puny brat touch him so shamelessly! His hands lifted, on the verge of letting small crackles escape his fingertips but caught sight of the boy’s face. His expression was serious and he had a finger to his lips in a ‘shush’ gesture.

Bakugo grew slightly alarmed, thinking that maybe he spotted a teacher and that they were close to getting caught. He tore the boys hand off his face, but kept quiet. Gon crouched down, followed by Bakugo, and he pointed over beyond the bushes they were hidden behind. Bakugo looked over cautiously to see... a rabbit.

A fucking rabbit.

It was sitting undisturbed in the middle of a small patch of clear forest floor. It’s tiny nose twitched as it sniffed the ground then the air. The blonde was about to blow up on the boy, only to realize he was no longer beside him. He startled, shivering upon realizing that he couldn’t sense Gon at all. It was like he had vanished into thin air. He hadn’t even heard him move. 

His head turned to look around, and eventually fell back on the rabbit. Blood red eyes widened at the sight before him. Creeping up soundlessly behind the rabbit, was Gon. Although Bakugo could literally see him right there, it felt like he wasn’t there. It was almost as if the scene of the boy quietly advancing on the small animal was just a hallucination. But he knew it wasn’t. This further proved just how much of a monster the he believed him to be. 

He watched on in silence as the boy lunged forward and caught the rabbit in his arms. He hopped up and gave a cheer, holding the confused animal in his hands, it’s feet dangling in the air.

“Hey Katsuki, look!” He skipped over to Bakugo and held out the rabbit to him. The rabbit seemed unbothered in the boys hold. It struggled only a little, kicking it’s feet and twisting it’s body unsuccessfully. Bakugo understood the freakish strength of the kids grip and almost sympathized with the small animal.

“It’s a stupid fucking rabbit. Big deal. What the hell freak?! We were in the middle of a race, are you stupid?!” He shouted angrily. Gon held the rabbit gently to his chest and looked at Bakugo with an embarrassed expression on his face.

“Sorry, I just happened to hear it and wanted to see what it was!” He said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head with the hand not supporting the rabbit. “But it’s pretty cute huh? Want to pet it?” He asked, holding it out to Bakugo again. 

Bakugo stared at the boy, something between rage and horror written on his face. He happened to hear it? That’s physically impossible. To be able to hear something so small and quiet while running wasn’t something a normal person could do, now matter how strong a quirk is. Unless the quirk specialized in hearing specifically, it wasn’t possible. It wasn’t normal.

His eyes fell down to the animal whose dark wide eyes looked back up at him. He felt disturbed, anxious, frustrated, and without thinking he shoved the rabbit back at the boy. Gon sputtered as he tried to maintain his hold on the animal.

“Wah! You could’ve just said no!” He pouted.

“There’s something really wrong with you.” Bakugo said, his arms crossed over his chest in defiance. His eyes were sharp and upset as they focused on his boyish face. Gon thought about it for a second. 

“I think I’m just too curious sometimes.” He replied, completely missing what the blonde was trying to say. “My friend from back home used to tell me that I had a bad habit of running in head first without thinking.” Bakugo had been slowly getting used to the boy’s strange way of thinking and figured it wasn’t worth it to try and explain.

Gon took a moment to sniff the air and looked at Bakugo. “I’m gonna take it to a spot where it’ll have an easier time getting food. We can finish the race right after, I promise.” 

Bakugo scoffed. “Whatever freak.” 

Gon smiled and began to walk in a direction completely different from their original course. Bakugo followed along, hands in the pockets of his sweatpants and his attention on their surroundings. His brow twitched when he thought about how he was willingly following this brat around like some duckling. He hated following others and taking their orders and this was no different. Deep down it felt instinctual, but it angered him and made him feel weak and he questioned why he was still trailing behind him like it was only natural.

“Hey! Why are you walking in front?! Walk behind me!” He growled.

“Do you know where we’re going?” Gon asked, genuinely interested in knowing if Bakugo had a similar familiarity with nature.

At that Bakugo grumbled and shut his mouth. He didn’t know exactly where Gon was going and now he felt embarrassed with himself. “Stupid kid.” He mumbled under his breath. Gon chose to ignore his comment, instead focusing on finding the place he was looking for.

Red eyes shifted to look at the boy in front of him, analyzing his ridiculously spiked hair and short stature. Without his strength, this boy would be just as useless as Deku. Maybe even more so. Having known Deku since childhood, Bakugo understood very well how easy it was for him to get into trouble. However, the kid in front of him was an entirely different type of beast. They’d known each other for the shortest time and he’d given the staff so many mini heart attacks in barely three days.

But he was strong. Frighteningly so. He’d been one of the few who’d seen it first hand.

He thought about it and became genuinely curious. If the heroes locked up someone like Gon who had natural strength and wasn’t tied to any of the restraints a quirk had... would it work? Could they hold on to him? Or would he escape, destroying everything his path?

This boy seemed to fear nothing, but accepted and explored everything. Unlike Deku, Gon never feared him, not once. It made him irritated. He felt weak against the boy and it sent him into fits of rage every time he was reminded of it. He hated feeling weak, especially against someone as insignificant as a child. Deku has no regards for his well-being sure, but this kid had no regard for his life. Not a single concern for whether he lived or not. Bakugo couldn’t tell if it was baseless confidence or something else, nor was he sure just how much he really wanted to know.

“There were a lot of animals on whale island.” Gon suddenly spoke up, startling the blonde out of his train of thought.

“Hah?” Bakugo let out blankly. Gon slowed his pace a bit to walk beside him, an absentminded smile plastered on his face.

“The island I live on. An old friend of mine told me once that a good hunter is liked by animals.” He continued to explain, as if he made any sense.

Bakugo glared at him. Was he stupid? Animals liking the people who hunted them. What kind of logic was that?

“That’s not how that works dumbass.” He voiced his thoughts.

“Hmm yeah, that’s what I thought too but... they were friendly. They sent me off when I went to take the hunter exam, and even after that.” Gon looked at the rabbit fondly. “I hope to be a good hunter, like Kite.”

“Say whatever shit you want, you still make absolutely no sense.”

They walked in silence for a bit longer, when Gon suddenly stopped, shifted his head around, sniffed the air once or twice, and placed the rabbit down. It hopped away from him cautiously at first, then bounded off beneath the underbrush toward wherever it was the boy probably meant for it to go. The blonde looked at him with a face of disgust, trying to comprehend the point of sniffing the air like a dog. 

“Hey Katsuki, what’s so great about being a hero?” Gon suddenly asked, catching him off guard.

Bakugo looked at the boy dumbly. He couldn’t tell what was more stupid; the fact that this kid still dared to call him by his first name, or that he didn’t understand the importance of heroes. 

“Being a hero means being the best.” He grunted in response. Gon mulled over that for a moment.

“But you can be the best without being a hero though, can’t you?” 

They were still walking down to the bottom of the mountain. The sudden topic distracted Bakugo from his hatred of walking beside the chaotic boy and the fact that they were no longer racing.

“Get this through your thick skull dumbass, being a hero means everything. It means strength and power. It means being the greatest in society.” Bakugo bit back.

Gon held his chin in his hand, steam puffing from his ears every now and again. “I guess that makes sense... but I still don’t really get it...” Bakugo’s short fuse got shorter as he listened to the boy talk. 

“Why are you at this school if you don’t even understand this much?! If that’s how you think then you don’t belong here!” He shouted in Gon’s face. He sweat dropped and held his hands up in meager defense. 

“Sorry, Sorry! It’s just... things for me are a little complicated.” Gon responded. 

Bakugo growled and huffed. He didn’t respond and kept walking, now pulling ahead as he stomped away from him in anger. The boy was only a few paces behind him but didn’t mind. A light but comfortable silence fell over the two as they continued walking. Eventually they finally made it to the bottom and they looked out into the street. 

It was still dark and the sky was a painting of tiny lights and navy blue. Street lights illuminated the road and sidewalks in a soft yellow glow, glinting off the metal lampposts. It was a night where the moon shone at its brightest, a pale disk in the center of the sky. 

“Alright!” Gon started, clenching his fists while he looked up at the twinkling stars. “Let’s race back up now!”

Bakugo scoffed at his eager and determined tone. “You’re not gonna stop and smell the roses again are you, little freak?” 

“Heh, yeah I promise... sorry again.” Gon smiled guiltily. 

“Remember that.” He spoke with a feral grin on his face. Gon nodded with a resolute expression.

They got back into a running position for the second time that evening and took off into the trees. This time the boy’s speed was untouchable, almost like the run on the way down was a fluke. He sped ahead with no signs of stopping. Bakugo hadn’t been prepared for the boy’s speed and lost sight of him in almost an instant. He vanished so quickly, so soon that he couldn’t tell if the boy was ahead of him, behind him, or still beside him just masked under the cover of the darkness provided by the night and the trees. 

Wind rushed in his ears as he ran. His heart thumped as blood pumped through his veins and filled his body with power. It took every nerve of his body on high alert to avoid catching his foot on a root, tripping over a rock, or smashing head first into a tree. 

By the time he reached the clearing at the top of the mountain, Bakugo was bent over and heaving. His lungs burned and felt empty of oxygen which they desperately wanted more of. Sweat slid down his temples and dripped off his nose onto the earth as he gasped for air. 

While he was in his state of exhaustion, he forced his head up and searched for the kid with spiky green hair. Not seeing him for a moment, he believed that he might have won. No he definitely won. That brat wasn’t as great as he made himself out to be. The beginnings of a smirk found its way onto his face only to fall at the glimpse of bright green a few feet off to the side.

Blood red eyes met golden ones and he froze. Gon stood there looking barely ruffled, no trace of sweat or exhaustion anywhere. He appeared to be as energetic as he was before they even left the building. Bakugo grit his teeth in anger, waves of defeat washed over his body, making him shake in his rage. 

“I won!” Gon cheered simply. Bakugo wanted to kill him. 

“Shut the fuck up!” He yelled in response. The boy didn’t stop but continued completely unphased by his anger.

“You’re faster without your quirk than I thought you’d be!” The boy said. Was he trying to make him angry on purpose, because that’s surely what it felt like.

“Stop mocking me brat, I’ll fucking kill you!” 

“But you did good though! Thanks for the race!” Gon spoke with an upbeat tone. During the time it took for Bakugo to regain his breath, Gon had made his way over to him. The boy held is hand out; to shake, high five, or even accept, Bakugo didn’t know. He’d didn’t care. He slapped the outstretched hand away and stood up on his own. 

He didn’t say anything in response, but just stood up and walked back toward the school. Before he made it up to the front door he paused, not turning to look at the shorter boy who watched him from where he stood.

“After school in my room. Don’t be late. If you struggle to keep up with what I teach you then I won’t bother with you anymore, got it?” Bakugo said suddenly. It took a second for Gon to realize that he was talking about his reward for winning: the promised tutoring sessions!

Gon lit up like a light, his amber eyes shining in the dark like burning flames. Bakugo began to walk away again before the boy quickly called out to get his attention. 

“Hey Katsuki! I know it’s not part of the deal but... I’ll fight you! Just tell me when and where. I promise to fight you with everything I’ve got!” He said with sturdy resolution.

“Hah, whatever freak! But don’t even fucking think about going back on those words.” Bakugo retorted without looking back, finally making his way back inside the building. Although he was turned at an angle that made it difficult to see his face, Gon managed to catch the briefest glance of a small smirk on the blonde’s face. His chest swelled with excitement.

Gon was distracted from his daze as his nose twitched, picking up the scent of someone approaching from somewhere close by. It was likely to be one of the teachers who patrolled the school grounds at night. Gon let out a strangled ‘ah’ as he rushed into the building to avoid getting caught.

That night was the start of a very unlikely and unexpected friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally just a for fun scenario I came up with after I finished watching Hunter x Hunter, and it just kinda became this fanfiction. Just a funny little interaction I've been thinking about, sorry if it sounds ooc. ^ v ^


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